A Smiling Angel 2
by Kuinshii
Summary: More than two years have passed now and Merianna has found herself becoming more and more involved with the Phantomhive household. Tensions and friendships are put in her hands as the Queen's Watchdog is delving deeper into more orders and missions. The past mysteries that weren't laid to rest have sprung back up, determined to take the whole Phantomhive household back down with it
1. Scales and Feathers

It has been 2 years that Merianna had been working in the Phantomhive estate now, and her role had grown from a little girl stumbling onto the estate by accident. She took care of cleaning the whole front hall, fetching water, dusting and other common chores. After her hurdle of struggles, her friendship with the other servants deepened, even with Sebastian. They politely stayed out of each other's way, but could work together when it was depended upon. It seemed that Ciel too, was warming up to her. He would bring her along some of his missions and she met more of his acquaintances, namely Agni and Prince Soma (she especially loved the elephants and stories from their country).

She was especially surprised when her Master gave her the first pay. She was confused and stumbled over how and why she received it. Ciel explained that her debt was fixed, but that she could continue working there if she wished. He also asked her to practice her tarot card summoning ability, just in case she was needed in battle. Merianna didn't understand what he meant by battle- except for the bugs that found their way into the home or pesky thieves, but she practiced anyways. Usually it was Finny she battled against, although certain things came to her advantages and certain things ensured her defeat with him. Out of her twenty-one cards, only seventeen responded to her. She never had more than seventeen voices in her head or seventeen imaginary friends to speak to. But she resolved that she would grow stronger as she grew.

Perhaps her heart was starting its healing process. She hadn't heard of Jake since he had left, but there was a small hope in her that he would be well. Oh well, there was work to be done. And he would come back when he came back.

The Queen had asked the Phantomhives to investigate a manor. Supposedly the owners had died a long time ago, but nothing confirmed it. Ciel had brought Sebastian and Merianna with him to investigate, leaving the rest at home. The funny thing was that the 'manor' was run down already, nothing more than rubble. After writing a quick report, they boarded the carriage and Sebastian willingly took the reins. Merianna felt adventurous today, so she stayed outside the carriage, boarding on the back as footman. Ciel scolded her for laughing too hard as the wind brushed her face, but she didn't mind. In fact, there was a hint of childish envy in his eyes. It was a pleasant morning that turned into a soothing afternoon as they rode along the country road back home.

There was no one around, and the wind felt so nice, so Merianna unfurled her strange wings. Unlike normal angels, she had an abnormality that caused her to have four wings instead of two. The force of the wind suddenly pushing against her wings almost knocked her off, but she held tightly onto the carriage. Suddenly, the horses buckled from the extra force and almost sent the carriage tumbling sideways.

"Merianna!" Ciel snapped. "Cut that out! Don't you understand the forces of physics?!"

She apologized profusely.

"Sebastian! How much longer until we arrive back home?"

"It shouldn't be too long now. Should we take a break?"

"No. The Count of Barton is visiting to discuss some business deals. I want you to be there to properly take care of everything."

That was Ciel's way of saying 'I want you to clean up whatever mess the servants made before he arrives.' Merianna hummed a little melody to herself, when suddenly the carriage sharply swerved right.

"Ah, my apologies, Young Master. I had to avoid a turtle crossing the road."

He gave a smirk to Merianna, who was clinging to the back of the carriage in fright. She didn't like the idea of being a footman anymore.

* * *

After they had returned, the servants helped Ciel back into the house, taking up his luggage and preparing his bath. Meirin and Sebastian were going to take care of him then, so Merianna went out back to the yard to help Finny with his chores. But where was he? She opened the shed, but he wasn't there. She also checked the storehouse, the gardens and all around the hedges, but he was not to be seen. Suddenly, there was a small chirping from inside the hedges. It was loud and clear, yet Merianna had trouble finding the source. Thinking it must have been deeper in, she combed through the branches, seeing a small baby bird lying on its back. Carefully, she picked it up and placed it in her palms, removing it from the hedge.

The little bird was covered in fluffy down feathers, squeaking pitifully. Merianna looked around, but there were no parent birds near and no nest to return the bird to. Its head was much too big to be supported by its tiny neck, this unsightly being. Any other person would turn their head away, but no, she couldn't abandon it. It was cold and lost in the world. She held the creature near her warm chest and carried it inside. The little bird nipped at her fingers; surely it was hungry for something to eat. She entered through the front door, careful to walk as gently as she could.

Something moved underneath her feet. She stopped and looked down, but there was nothing there. She felt something brush her left boot, but then there was nothing there either. She shuddered as she continued on but suddenly a strange noise sizzled behind her. When she turned around, there was a long creature with a giant mouth sizzling at her. She stepped back and fell on her behind, screaming out in fear.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEE!"

When the entire household rushed into the front house, there was Merianna, backing away from a tiny snake crawling around the carpet.

"Wah! Snake! Get that snake away from her!" Finny cried out.

There was a rugged man who walked towards the creature and bent down towards it. The long scaly thing slithered up his arm. When she met his gaze, she noticed that he looked like the scaly thing. The chirping bird continued to protest, yet she shook with such ferocity that it paralyzed her.

"W-W-What is…that thing?" she uttered.

She held the tiny bird close to her. Finny was the first to rush to her side.

"Meri! Are you all right? It was just a snake…don't worry…it won't attack you if Snake doesn't tell it too, right Snake?"

"She was just hungry…said Emily."

Meirin also came to Merianna's side.

"Is that a baby bird you have there? I can take him, I will prepare a nest."

Merianna shakily gave her friend the tiny bird, still trying to hide from the Snake person. He turned away from her.

"Wh-Wha…s-snake…? That was…a snake?"

"Have you never seen a snake before Meri?" Finny asked as he helped her up.

She dried her tears and sniffed.

"Oh dear…I feel…kind of foolish now…"

"If you must feel sick, I suggest you feel sick somewhere else." Sebastian suddenly cut in, placing a hand on the snake-person's shoulder.

"Merianna, this is Snake, the new servant. He is appointed the footman which of course…"

"Is"

"Still"

"A"

"Higher position"

"Than"

"You"

"_SCULLERY MAID"_

The words struck her like a lightning bolt. Whoever said that lightning doesn't strike the same place twice obviously lied. She curtseyed to the man when she calmed down. Just because she discovered her new fear of snakes didn't mean she could be rude to the man. She greeted him with a 'nice to meet you' and he replied with a nod. Finny took hold of her arm to steady her as the adrenaline subsided. She excused herself hastily and made to the servants quarters, where she saw Meirin take the little bird.

Meirin had fetches towels and lined a wooden box with it, gently placing the baby bird inside. Merianna thanked her and presided near the box, peering inside warmly. Thankfully, the little bird seemed unhurt from the incident, although he was still chirping hungrily. Bardroy brought out a few bread crusts left from yesterday's dinner, and Merianna fed them to the baby.

"It will be okay…if we keep him…right?" she asked gingerly.

Bardroy shrugged. "I don't see why not. If Sebastian won't let you keep it around the house, I'll keep it in the kitchen."

"Don't you…cook chickens there…though…" Meirin commented.

"Ow! He pecked me!" Finnian cried out, dropping a few bread crumbs. "Well, he doesn't seem to be too far from an adult. Sparrows usually grow into adults in 14 days."

"So it should be fine, Snowy." Bardroy smiled.

"We can all help take care of this little bird!" Meirin suggested. "For now, I guess we can leave him here. We'll check back on our break."

* * *

"Everyone," Sebastian addressed the staff, "we have an important guest coming over tonight, and the Young Master and I are going into town. I expect that when I come back, everything will be in tip-top shape and if anything goes wrong…"

He pointed at Merianna, who squeaked in panic.

"ALL FAULTS WILL FALL ON YOU!" He threatened dramatically.

He continued on: "The curtains and drapery must be redesigned as well. Please use the purple set instead and prepare a guest room for Mr. Breton. I expect you will all help Snake with his duties…as he will be staying here instead of joining Young Master and I. Ah yes; it appears Mr. Breton has a dislike for nut products, so please refrain from that. He also asks that we do not prepare land-meat meals for his dinner, so I expect the finest fish dishes…Bardroy... Lastly, the hedges and grass must be cut and trimmed as I am sure he would like to see the potential of the Phantomhive servants!

Waving off their Master, the servants got to work. Bardroy took charge of preparing the food and Snake assisted him, although he had much to learn about etiquette and refinery. Meirin took to the laundry and pulled out every kind of purple fabric they had. Merianna set to preparing the guestroom while Finny was doing the usual gardening. Merianna made sure to wipe every surface until it was devoid of any specks of dirt or dusk. She opened up the windows to air out the room and swept the balcony. She then fetched some coals to fill the fireplace and a poker. After rearranging a few minor chairs and tables, she brought fresh linens and sheets from Meirin to the bedroom. The last touch was a vase of sweet-smelling flowers to brighten the room.

By then, it was late afternoon as she made her way to the kitchen. Bardroy needed help peeling fruits and vegetables as the rest of the staff were still busy. They chatted lightly for a while, although when Merianna finished peeling the potatoes, her hands were cut all over. She didn't seem to have much talent in the kitchen. She had to excuse herself and go fetch some bandages. While she got them from the cabinet in the hall, she resolved to take her break and check up on the baby sparrow while fixing herself up.

Standing over the box was a black cat, with its paw raised up.

"Ah! _La merde_!"

A sudden pair of creatures launched themselves at the cat, causing it to hiss and jump away, and stumble off the table. Merianna ran over to the little bird, grabbing the box and cradling it in her arms. She gasped when she saw two snakes entwining the cat, stepping away until her back was against the wall. Snake was in the room as well, watching both of them. Merianna was shaking while she stepped away, tightening her grip on the box.

"Are you scared of snakes...asked Wordsworth."

Merianna looked at the man, and he directed her gaze at the snakes, which were letting go of the cat.

"We won't eat the little sparrow…said Bronte. Not if you don't want us to…"

She turned her gaze back at Snake himself. If Master Ciel had trusted him, then so will she. Snakes or no snakes. The cat got up and quickly sprinted away. When Merianna felt safer, she let the box back on the table, sighing as she watched the sleeping little bird inside.

"_You_ don't want to…Do you?" she mumbled.

She had no idea what snakes ate, after all. Snake shook his head as he bent down towards the ground, calling his snake friends back inside his sleeve. Merianna noticed his abnormal skin and his white hair, although his hair was a more even tone than hers. She braced herself. The last other white-haired person turned out to be a deranged angel. Perhaps his hair and skin was even a different texture. She was quite curious; except she wouldn't want one of his snakes to launch itself at her should she draw near. He flinched at her staring, snapping her back from her thoughts.

"W-Would you like some tea?" she asked, going on ahead to fetch some.

She came back with the set, pouring them both a cup and sitting down. He stood at the end of the room, eyes downcast. Merianna was not sure what to say. Something slithered past her boot and she instinctively jumped up from the chair. Nothing was there, and she quietly sat back down. Two quiet minutes later, and she heard a hissing sound beside her ears, jolting out again and spilling some tea on her apron. She heard a quiet chuckling in front of her and turned her gaze to Snake, who was covering a grin with a hand. She puffed her cheek in annoyance, but didn't say anything. At least one of them was enjoying themselves.

A few minutes later, she felt something scaly against her leg, but she ignored it. Snake finally sat down, taking the cup of tea. Merianna closed her eyes tightly when she felt something else slither around her foot. Her hands were shaking, but she refused to let out any sound. When she opened her eyes, there was a small green snake right in front of her on the table, sticking its tongue out and in.

She slapped a hand over her mouth, replaced the cup on the table and covered her entire face, touching her head to her lap. _This is just another bad dream…_she told herself. She was shaking a lot in her seat, although nothing had yet to attack her. She could hear the hissing around her, and it made her paranoid.

"Miss? Are you all right?"

_Scaryscaryscaryscaryscarysca ryscaryscaryscaryscary_ her mind repeated.

"Ah…I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean…to take it that far…"

"s'okay…"

She didn't move, but she didn't want to worry him. She didn't want to come off rude either, so she braced herself and lifted her body back up, a crooked smile on her face. All the snakes were gone now, but he had a frown on his face.

"…sorry." She apologized. "I've never seen snakes before…"

Despite this, there was an innate instinct in her to draw away from snakes, that they would hurt her or trick her in some way. She excused herself and hurried out of the room, not bothering with the tea or Snake anymore, until she reached the other end of the servants' quarters, near the cleaning supplies cabinet. She sat down here in the corner and buried her head, scolding herself for being so afraid and rude.

* * *

"Welcome, Mr. Breton." The servants greeted, bowing with respect.

The stout man sniffed and flung his coat at Finny without as much as a greeting. Ciel and Sebastian entered after, a weary look on their faces. Meirin guided them to the dining table where the drapery was a lovely shade of purple and the table wear was warm and sparkling. Merianna went into the kitchen to bring out the meals while Sebastian seated the gentlemen down. Mr. Breton and her Master talked about various business deals, local and international. They seemed to have a disagreement on something, but they kept their anger passive. Mr. Breton didn't seem to have much for manners, as he talked with his mouth stuffed and guzzled the wine down like a madman. He even tried to make a grab at Meirin, who shyly backed away. Merianna stepped in for her friend and refilled his glass when he tapped it noisily with a dripping spoon.

Soon, the meal was over and the dishes were bussed to the kitchen. Bardroy had set up the servants' dinners while Sebastian went to guide the Master and Mr. Breton to the parlour and offer desserts. Over dinner, the servants were especially talkative towards their newest addition. Merianna smiled to herself when she remembered when she was in Snake's spot, listening to how special her friends were. Bardroy and Meirin told him where they came from and their specialties, of course. Finny only had to demonstrate it by lifting the entire table. Merianna felt their gazes on her for her turn.

"I…uh…read cards. Tarot cards." She said nervously.

Bardroy burst into laughter. "You're just gonna stop at that, Snowy?"

Merianna blushed. She didn't know how to introduce herself as humbly as she would've wanted.

"I've seen tarot cards before…said Faust." Snake replied. "Fake fortune tellers at the circus."

Before they could continue the conversation, a small bell was ringing, calling them. Meirin stood up, telling Snake that as footman, he should come with her as well. There was still much for him to learn. Bardroy, Finny and Merianna finished up their dinners and Merianna collected the dishes to wash. The work progressed late in the day until finally; the servants bade each other good night.

* * *

_Snaaaakes….Snakes…._ Merianna mumbled.

In her dream, everything around her slithered around the room like a snake. The ribbons and tassel from the drapery came alive and swayed in the air. The carpet and teapot slithered around her feet. Suddenly, the floor gave out before her.

"Ouch!" she cried as she opened her eyes.

In the dim light, she saw the outline of Snake peering over her. _Crap_, she thought. _I sleep-walked again._ She groggily sat up, rubbing her eyes. It was definitely still night, the only light streaming from the windows.

"Miss? You started walking around calling for us…said Oscar. Are you feeling all right?"

She rubbed her head and looked down at the ruffled carpet. The fall must have awoken her and snapped her back from her dream. She was just about to reply when a creaking sound was audible, forcing them both to look towards the stairs. There was more creaking as someone with a candle was coming down the stairs. Merianna quickly tapped Snake's shoulder and put a finger to her lips. No one in the household was that heavy to cause the stairs to squeak that much. They backed against the pillars of the front hall until the stout figure came into their view. It was Mr. Breton of course, in his nightgown with a small bag in his hands.

Mr. Breton slowly made his way towards them, making them both hide away in the shadows. He turned around, expecting someone following him, but then returned to his business. His hands reached out towards a near ornament on the table, then quickly swept everything into the bag. Before he knew it, Snake was tapping on his shoulder.

"Guests should not do-"

A flash of bronze and red and Snake's body fell to the ground. Merianna gasped as she saw Mr. Breton brandish the bloodied bronze decoration, until the candle went out. She stayed silent, listening for the thief's breathing while controlling her own. He was unaware of her presence still. She whispered.

"Risado sirscunus…_Xis_…bring everyone to me…"

She stayed, plastering herself against the pillar until there was the sound of movement. The cards were all sliding over to Merianna. She heard a small yelp before she snatched the closest ones at her feet.

"Risado sirscunus!" She yelled out, wanting to catch Mr. Breton by surprise, "_Dris-Nafuru_!"

All the literature in the entire estate began to glow and emit a low hum. Merianna, too started to glow orange with heat. _Dris-Nafuru_ taught her many things, even without showing her how or lecturing her. _Dris-Nafuru_ seemed to know everything, even if he couldn't prove it. He allowed all things written to glow and be able to be soaked into Merianna's memory. It worked as a sudden light for Merianna to pinpoint her enemy.

"How dare you steal from the Phantomhive household!" She said, fiercely protecting her Master's possessions.

Mr. Breton turned to run, only to run into the Phantomhive butler himself.

"Dear, dear, what have we here?" He asked.

Mr. Breton was given a well deserved hit in the stomach, rendering him unconscious. Sebastian grimaced as he took the limp body in his arms.

"Good work, Merianna. But next time, try limiting your glow to the books that are _not _in Young Master's bedroom. He has been having difficulties sleeping recently…"

Merianna, again, apologized profusely, sending _Dris-Nafuru_ quietly back to her deck. The whole house lost its orange glow and returned to night.

"Also, would you please take care of Snake? He seems to be suffering a heavy head injury and as well…the snakes he talks to seem to be…restless…as their master had gone unconscious. Please take care of gathering and containing all the snakes in the area. I'm sure that you can…handle it. Oh, and try not to wake anyone else up."

Merianna shivered like the devil had taken possession of her.

* * *

Merianna had no tarot card to take care of someone else's wound. That was as simple as she could put it. However, she did forget to put the bandages back into the cabinet and thankfully fell asleep while washing dishes and therefore, still had them in her pocket. She praised her own short-comings. However, she wasn't sure of how to properly take care of an injured person. Not wanting his head to be hurt by the ground, she flipped him onto his back (carefully, just in case any snake was still on his body), and put his head on her lap for leverage and comfort. Not that he could feel anything due to being unconscious. She would have to wash her blood-stained apron tomorrow.

Merianna started to unravel the bandage and wrap it around his head, supporting it when she had to go under. She realized that his skin was actually scaly-like to the touch, unlike a normal human's. Did snakes feel this way too? Still, she only had bandaging in her mind and she finished up with a nice bow on his head. While she took off her apron and made a small pillow for his head to rest on the floor, she thought of how she could ever charm the snakes to gather near her.

She brought out her cards after moving Snake off of her lap and to the folded apron. Most of them could kill or harm people. And she didn't like the idea of killing off someone's friends. She could use _Dris-Vit _to read their minds, but that wouldn't help with her capturing them.

_If it's animals you need…_

She took out Fortitude, hearing his voice. When she was younger, she would play in the field and forest while_ Vit_ entertained her by morphing into different animals. Sometimes beasts, sometimes cats, except he had a much harder time replicating things like giants, elves and the mythical animals in Merianna's books.

"Oh no…You can't be serious…" she muttered. "Risado…sirscun..us…_Vit_…I suppose you'll turn me…half-snake now…!"

Merianna closed her eyes and let _Vit _complete the transformation for her. She felt the heat suddenly stolen from her feet, her fingers and then her whole body. But she started sensing the heat from everything else too. There was heat coming off of Snake's body, as well as beyond the walls to the servants' quarters. There was also a sudden influx in the smells around her. They seemed to tell her more than just what Bardroy had attempted to make as a dessert that evening. When Merianna opened her eyes, the room was much lighter than it seemed to have been before. She scratched her arm, surprised to see it between scaly and smooth.

She felt cold, and shuddered from the loss of heat. Also because she was part-snake now. But this meant that she could find the snakes more easily. She sniffed the air, and she could sense wriggling underneath the carpet. She located the edge, where a snake was curled up underneath. She bent down and lifted the carpet up, almost crying when there was a snake underneath. She could sense something else too, from the snake.

It was cold too.

Merianna suddenly saw the little snake as the small, downy bird she found in the backyard – cold and lost, possibly hungry too. That's right, even if it did nip at her, she would do her best to save it. Merianna let the carpet back down while she quickly jumped over to the closet that contained all the towels and sheets for use. She came back to the snake under the carpet and scooped it up into the towel. Even though _Vit _could not communicate with animals, Merianna found herself consoling the animal while she carried the towel around, looking for more.

Her newly acquired snake-ness led her everywhere in the house, toilets, fireplaces (not lit of course), bedrooms, carpets, and the list seemed to go on forever to find snakes. When her towel was almost full and they started to entwine around her (I'm not your momma! She cried), she rushed back to Snake's body and placed them there. Surprisingly, the snakes started to hide back in his sleeves, calmed down and having found their master. How many more were there…?

She sensed something further down, near the basement. She worried that the snake would find its way into the piping of the house, and she quickly brought another towel and headed down the steps. She was surprised that she didn't need a candle to light her way, seeing perfectly fine in the dark.

The basement seemed quiet and unmoving. She was sure she felt something moving about though. Suddenly, something dropped in front of her. She looked down to see a small tail. She looked up to see the body. And through the piping in the ceiling of the basement the body continued on. She felt a cold sweat breaking while her eyes traced the body of this enormous snake.

* * *

When Snake awoke, he instantly sat up. He was surprised to feel his companions slithering all over him, wanting to feel warm inside his clothes. He almost squished them sitting up so fast. Now he was suffering the wrath of an angry throbbing wound on his head. He touched it and was surprised to see gauze wrapped around. Who put such a fancy bow? It looked kind of ridiculous, but he couldn't complain. He looked around, counting his companions up. Some were still missing, of course. He suddenly smelt something strange in the air.

"S-S-Snake….!" He heard a small voice cry out.

He saw the scullery maid slowly walk from the basement, arms outstretched and pace slow. One of his bigger friends was wrapped around her. He was surprised she wasn't constricted yet.

"Please…get him…off me…!"

Actually, it was a she. He nodded and came to pick her off. She was wrapped around Merianna's head, shoulders, torso and twisted around her waist. When he approached, he suddenly was able to trace the strange scent to Merianna. Her face seemed mortified, but still too terrified to run around and fling the snake off her. She smelt just like a female snake would, and when he came in contact with her skin, he felt the familiar touch of scales. No wonder the snakes seemed to be friendly with her.

"You…! You feel…! You feel _and _smell just like a snake!" He muttered.

She nodded, finally free from the snake's grip, and shuddered.

"Are snakes always this cold…?" she asked.

He nodded.

"But you don't feel as cold." She stated.

"I'm only half-snake."

She shuddered again, trying to warm her hands by breathing on them. Obviously that didn't work as well.

"We should the others…before they freeze to death." She whispered.

"You aren't scared of snakes anymore?...asked Bronte"

"Well..." but she wasn't sure herself.

She was sure that she could get over it…someday… In the meanwhile, Snake took off his jacket and offered it to her. He insisted that he wasn't cold, so she gratefully took it. They figured that they would check upstairs for anymore snakes, provided that Merianna didn't have to handle the bigger ones again. Without having to enter Ciel's bedroom, they scrounged up a few more snakes, but Snake insisted that there were still more. The only area left to check was outside. Merianna led the way out while Snake got a bright lantern from his chamber.

"Can you call the snakes?" Merianna whispered.

He closed his eyes and focused on something. Merianna braced herself for a couple hundred slithery things to all rush at them. The night air was certainly cool, and she sat down for a while. Snake sure was taking his time, and she was getting a bit sleepy. She yawned, trying to stay awake, but her eyes kept closing. The cold air seemed to be pushing her deeper and deeper into sleep. She figured that she could just close her eyes.

"Ah…Miss, don't fall asleep!" she heard someone say.

She was _trying_ not to. She felt her body go numb. It was such a bother to move any more.

"Miss! Wake up! You should-…it must be too cold for you here…"

"Justleaveeeeeit…." She mumbled, curling up on the ground.

Snake had forgotten how susceptible snakes were to the cold, or at least how much a snake-transformed-part-girl was. He had no idea how to wake her up, as she wouldn't respond to his shaking or yelling. Emily suggested she slither around her, because that would make her jump, but Snake doubted that would do much if she were unconscious. Two snakes were outside, but that's all who answered his call. There were still three more missing. He couldn't leave the scullery maid behind, especially if the most part of her was snake.

He had difficulty hoisting her up onto his back and making sure that his friends could get comfortable, but once she was on, he found no problem with her weight. In fact, she was much lighter than he expected. Even Doll or Wendy seemed to bear more weight than her. Snake took the lantern in his mouth, holding the handle with his teeth. His friends helped, especially Sheila, who wrapped herself around everyone to keep everything secure. He made his way back inside the house, carrying back a ton of snakes and a part-snake. Something dripped on his face. At first, he worried that it was the girl drooling in her sleep, but when he looked up; he saw the cloudy skies starting to break and rain down.

The air suddenly was windy and cold, and all the snakes on his squirmed uncomfortably. He asked them all to stop, when the rain really started pelting down. His clothes got damp and it was harder to hold onto the scullery maid, and she was in risk of falling off if he tried to run. The snakes inside started to fall silent and unmoving. Soon they too, would fall asleep from the lack of heat.

"Dammit…!" He spat, still trudging on.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of multiple cracks, like a thousands ghosts cracked their knuckles at the same time. He turned back to see white wings behind him, giving him a small shield from the cold rain. He took this blessing as a chance and continued walking into the house. He was just at the steps when he heard the girl starting to mumble something. It was gibberish to him, but she mumbled constantly, like she was giving a speech or rant.

He dragged himself over to the parlour, where there was sure to be a fireplace. He opened the door and slipped her down. He saw shocked to realize that the feathered wings came from her back. He set the lantern down and poured some of the oil out onto the fire before lighting a small part of the fireplace.

"Dammit…Dammit…light up faster…!" he snarled impatiently.

Even though the room was warming up, everything was still wet from the rain. He let his snakes down and onto the warm carpet by the fireplace while he took off his wet shirt and he slapped it down on the floor. Anything wet would become cold soon. He suddenly realized that was probably why the scullery maid wasn't waking up as well…

He escaped to the servants headquarters, banging on the door he was sure was the housemaid's. What was her name again?

"Meirin! Miss Meirin! Please wake up! It's an emergency!"

The door creaked open and a dishelleved face peeked out.

"Snake? At this time of-"

She suddenly gave a small gasp and brought her sleeve up to her nose, which suddenly started bleeding.

"What's the matter…?" she asked.

"Merianna is in the parlour…but she needs to be undressed…says Keat. Or she won't wake up properly. Says Dan."

Certainly Meirin read the situation wrong, requiring a large handkerchief to stop the bleeding in her nose. (Dear god…what have I written…)

* * *

Snake had woken up the rest of the servants, a bit unwillingly, while the gardener…Finny it was...was called over. He also put on a new shirt after the cook had told him that if he kept going half-naked, that the first thing 'Snowy' would do when she woke up was to faint again. After Meirin had changed the scullery maid, she helped with drying her hair. The only thing left was the feathered wings. Snake could not help but stare at them. The girl had woken up by then and cast away the snake skin and smell when the boys re-entered.

"Are you all right? How do you feel?" Bardroy asked.

"Better than before." She said shyly.

She shivered a bit, looking a bit of a mess.

"You might be running a cold…is there a way to dry your wings? It might not be a good idea to errr…fold them in while they're soaked."

"Ah, please don't worry about me." She replied. "I'm sorry for waking you all."

She took a towel and began rubbing the feathers on her wing to dry them. She frowned, apparently not very experienced with how to take care of them. Snake, meanwhile, explained the situation to them.

"If it's something in the house to find, leave it up to me!" Meirin said, pulling off her glasses.

She burst out the doors, assuring Snake that she would find them. Bardroy went with her with a fishnet to hold them, promising to be gentle to the snakes. Finnian also grabbed a towel and helped dry the other wings.

"If you needed help finding them, you could've just asked us, Snake!" Finnian said brightly. "We'll all help you!"

He flushed a bit before looking away, although he nodded. He, too took a towel and went to the only wing left unworked on. He seemed unsure of himself when he reached out to touch a wing.

"Are these…these…real?" he asked.

The scullery maid nodded, looking a bit embarrassed. He touched a feather with a finger, just to feel it. It was soft, but clumped together from the rain. He watched how she dried herself, and copied her movements.

"Uh…does this hurt?"

She shook her head. "Thank you, Snake."

"Merianna! I finished this wing!" Finny said.

Oh, so that was her name. He had forgotten it, but was too shy to ask her again. She politely thanked him as Snake finished the wing he was working on. The doors opened with Bardroy the cook, who carried the fish net with 3 snakes inside and Meirin, who had a tea set with her. They hissed, but calmed down when they entered the room.

"We found them!" Bardroy announced proudly.

"And since we're all already up, why not have a break?" Meirin added.

Snake reunited with his companions and set them beside the fire too. All the snakes there had curled and entwined around each other, resembling a big ball of slithery creatures. It seemed that everyone was safe and warm now. Meirin served him a cup and they sat down by the fireplace.

"So you aren't scared of snakes anymore?" Finny asked.

Merianna almost choked on the tea, but quickly took a refined pose.

"Well, whether a creature has scales or feathers or skin, it doesn't really matter…I guess I've learned that."

That still didn't stop her from jumping when Bronte decided to give her a tiny kiss on the cheek as thanks.

* * *

Snake accompanied Merianna outside to let the grown-up sparrow free. He had yet to properly thank her for helping him rescue his friends.

"Finny said that we have to give him lift before he can fly up." She explained. "I think your arms are longer, so perhaps you would give him a better take off."

That made absolutely no sense to Snake, but he sighed at her misunderstanding of physics and she placed the little bird in her palms. Her hands were smooth now and not scaly at all. The little bird flopped over in his hands and picked at his scales. With a strong movement, he swung the bird up and it took off, flapping its wings and heading off east.

"Do you fly too, Merianna?...asks Wilde."

She scratched her cheek. "Actually…I've tried to. But I can't do more with these wings than glide down or go straight up. I can't see air currents, and the way I have this…_abnormality _...makes it near-impossible to really do much…"

So she wasn't part-bird after all.

Later, Ciel called him up to the study.

"So have my servants taught you much these few days?"

Snake didn't have to lie at all. "Yes, sir. Plently."

He seemed satisfied, returning to writing in a notebook.

"I suppose it was more than just setting tables and etiquette?"

"Yes sir. That feathers and scales are just the same."

Ciel smirked at the bit of nonsense biology, and dismissed the footman.


	2. Ships and Secrets

"And what have you found out from Mr. Breton?" Ciel demanded.

"Well, Young Master. It would be incorrect to say that this is the Mr. Breton we expected…" Sebastian answered, reading from a set of papers.

"An imposter?"

"It appears the sir was attacked before we came to pick him up, and the thieves put an impostor in his place. Their goal: to steal valuables from the Phantomhive household for their so called…guild…"

"It's those bastards again, isn't it?"

"Yes, Young Master. The _Rouge-Gorges._"

"A guild of thieves I see… The Queen will surely send me a letter concerning them soon. What other information did you get from Mr. Breton?"

"Hm, not much before his body succumbed to drowning, I supposed I should work on my waterboarding skills…or perhaps it was the quality of the rainwater…"

"Sebastian!"

"Ah yes. My apologies. He told us the place where he was to deliver the goods once he escaped from the mansion. Shall we finish the job for him?"

Sebastian handed to Ciel a map of the local area, with the destination circled in black ink.

"Of course. Prepare a carriage immediately. We will have to contact our correspondent there as well. We will leave tonight."

"Yes, my lord."

* * *

"Haaaaah? Young Master is taking you to France? How lucky!" Finnian exclaimed.

"It's an okay country." Snake remarked, picking another tomato.

Finny moved the basket closer over to him.

"Ah, Merianna's hometown is there…she called it…Hainneville. Have you been there before?"

"…Yes…"

"So you know how to speak the language, right?"

"…No…"

Inside the house, Merianna dropped the duster while Sebastian told her the news.

"Only Master Ciel, Snake and you…?"

Sebastian smirked. "Yes, you heard correctly. Boarding on the ship tomorrow to France. It certainly is a shame that you couldn't come along."

She gripped the duster tightly when she picked it back up, with an almost murderous aura around her.

"P-Please…take care…of the Master then…" she said, bearing a forced grin.

It was only after he closed the door that Merianna turned into a whirlwind, brushing and dusting the study.

_Why couldn't he take meeee? I speak French! Quite fluently as well! In fact, I bet I could point him out to the most delicious French desserts! Ohhhh and they are ferrying over! On a ship~! Gah! I will have to work harder so that Master will notice my efforts and take me along next time!_

As mad as she was for not having been chosen to go, she felt a sort of happiness that her friends would see how elegant her birth country was. In a sense, if they were in France, a part of her soul was there as well. From the window, she watched as Tanaka pulled up the horse carriage and stopped at the front. Sebastian and Bardroy were carrying heavy-looking trunks and cases. Snake, too, was carrying a suspiciously heavy wooden crate. She sighed and quickly finished in time so she could see them off.

"Dear, our Young Master is travelling so far away!" Meirin exclaimed. "We won't have anyone to take care of for a while…"

"Nonsense. There is plenty to take care of during our absence." Sebastian said.

He handed let a piece of paper that unrolled into just about a million chores to do around the house.

"And don't let anyone else on the property." Ciel warned.

"Yes, My Lord!" the servants said in unison.

* * *

Ciel slept while the carriage travelled, finally stopping at an inn when they were near the border. As usual, Ciel had only the finest foods to eat, even if they were away from home. After all, he still had Snake, Tanaka and Sebastian to wait on him. Each person had their own single room, and slept soundly that night. The next day, Sebastian and Snake had to pack up everything to get back on the trail. Tanaka had readied the horse carriage and the journey continued until they reached the docks. They stopped and unloaded the carriage, waved goodbye to Tanaka and he set off back to the estate. Sebastian and Snake lugged the cases to the big ship and handed them off to the attendants. Snake hoped that none would hear the suspicious hissing from inside one of the crates…

They boarded the ship and mingled among the passengers. Ciel kept mostly to himself, leaning over the railing to watch the ocean waves. The ship was filling up with more people, and they started noticing the 'snake-skinned person', the 'handsome butler' and the 'unsupervised child'. Ciel had absolutely no interest in mingling with the crowd, so full of peasants. Despite this, he listened into any conversations that happened near him.

"Oh, did you hear that terrible news about that stealing maid? I hear that she was given another job, _at the same mansion_!"

"No! That's absurd! It must have been that rogue group that's been going around again…"

"Are you quite sure that this ship won't crash? It's such a beautiful night…I feel a bit sick…How long will the trip be?"

"I hope we reach Paris soon~"

"It seems this ship is docking at Hainneville. It will take 2 days they said. Oh dear, how will the children take this?" fussed one woman.

"Oh! Hainneville! You must be careful, darling." Said another, "That town is rumoured to be _full _of rapists and bad people. Not a single good person at all!"

"I suppose they all left for England!"

The gossiping women squawked in laughter like parrots. One of them carried a small, sleek bulldog that squirmed in her arms until she finally let it down. It sniffed around the docks and came up to Ciel, sniffing his feet. Sebastian responded by glaring at it.

"Oh, Tikess! Don't terrify the poor child!" the woman scolded. "Come here, boy!"

"I hate dogs…" Sebastian mumbled.

Ciel smirked. "Well, you'll be together for 2 days on this ship. _Woof!_"

Finally, everyone had boarded and the ship set sail. The ship was a common ferry across the English Channel, but Ciel had rented almost a quarter of the ship for his own personal space. He resided in the silence of one parlour alone, reading from a book. Meanwhile, he sent Snake to guard outside, untrusting of the more common folk around the ship. Sebastian he sent to mingle with the folk to gather gossip and news. At once, there was a large thump noise. Ciel ignored it the first time, but this time, there was something that fell into the waters. He only caught something in his peripheral vision through the window, so he was unsure of what it was.

He opened the door to the rest of the ship, surprised to see Snake still standing there. Sebastian was walking calmly towards them with a small smile on his face.

"What is going on?" Ciel demanded.

"Oh, just a robbery, Young Master. Of the whole ship."

"It's a group that proclaim to be called the _Ruje-Gores _or something like that…says Celia."

* * *

Merianna was sweeping the patio with the straw broom, sighing dejectedly. How she wished to be on the ship with her Master. She worried if they were able to take care of Ciel. She still didn't trust Sebastian at all, and Snake was still inexperienced. Certainly she would be able to protect him and take care of him as well. Since Sebastian had gone, Bardroy would be in charge of cooking meals again. She preferred leftovers than his 'special surprise meat' pie.

She saw someone red approaching the patio. She looked somewhat familiar, and she seemed to calmly be walking, as if she was a regular guest at the estate. Her colour was vibrant and flamboyant.

"H-Hold it! Who are you? Th-This is private property!" Merianna yelled.

"Araa? Did you say something?" The strange person asked.

She had long red hair and a crimson jacket she loosely wore around her arms with bright lime green eyes that seemed so familiar under her red-rimmed glasses. Her mouth revealed teeth that reminded Merianna of monsters.

"Is Sebas-chan home?"

"Sebas…chan? Do you mean Sebastian, madam?"

The woman had grabbed Merianna's chin and painfully twisted it left and right.

"Huh…you don't seem like Sebastian's type…or any other kind of person's type either…"

She let go forcefully, almost snapping Merianna's neck, took out a book and started scanning through it, mumbling something to herself.

"H-Hey! You are trespassing on Master's property! I will kick you out!" Merianna threatened.

She didn't want to be rude, and she was a little frightened by this woman after being handled so roughly. She grabbed her arm and started to drag her away, but she had no MANLY PHYSIQUE (rubyquest joke insert) and it was no use, the crimson woman would not budge.

"I will have to force you out then!" she warned.

She looked at her with the most uninterest in the world. Merianna was not being taken seriously at all. In response, Merianna took out her cards. She didn't want to kill this opponent. She supposed that as long as she didn't cause any bleeding, the woman would be fine.

"Risado sirscunus! _Deus!_"

The Hanged Man.

The sun suddenly retreated behind a large heavy cloud, as many more joined to block the sky out completely.

"_Aryan victinr sy-yarn_" she muttered. _Get away from here._

"What's that? You want me to go away? For an angel, your accent is pretty good."

She continued flipping through the pages, but she suddenly stopped upon realization.

"Why would an angel know devilspeak…"

She had no more time to ponder the thought though, as a rope suddenly caught around her neck. Shee struggled and dropped the book, unable to escape before the knot enclosed her neck. The noose. There was a noose around her neck. Her breath caught in her throat and she tried to scratch at the rope.

"_DETTAKE! SUGREI!_"

Merianna released _Deus_, reverting back to her proper English.

"That was a warning, madam, and I ask that you leave the ground now if you have no business here!."

The woman fell to the ground, although she seemed to be all right. A suited individual with slicked back hair and black rimmed glasses appeared beside her with a similar book and hedge clippers, kicking the woman on the butt.

"I should've known it was you who took the liberties of trying to collect the soul here."

Merianna gripped the card, ready to summon another couple more lengths of rope now that another trespasser had joined in.

"Please disregard us, ma'am. We are simply Death Reapers on our duty." The suited individual politely said.

He turned back to the red Death Reaper, picking her up by the ear. Merianna lowered her guard for a moment, blinking her eyes to assure herself that she was not dreaming. Where were the horses that accompanied them or the black shawls that encompassed their skeletons?

"Grell! I've told you many times not to disrespect the Devils! For shame!"

"But Willlll!" she whined. "She ain't a Devil! She's a measly angel-girl!"

"_Measly_!" Merianna spat, offended.

It wasn't her that was dangling down from a knotted rope a few seconds ago. The Death Reaper called Will pushed the glasses on his face, staring at her. Merianna swore she could feel icicles growing on her. He didn't seem to be buying the story anyways.

"Let's just go. If you give me anymore trouble, I will have you work overtime!" He hissed, addressing the woman called Grell.

They started to leave, but only towards the house. Merianna was losing her patience now with these two strange fellows. Who were they?

"Risado sirscunus…_Dris-Vit_."

She was able to process the information that went through their minds. Things about collecting a soul, returning to the shinigami world, filing paperwork, more paperwork, a Ronald Knox, more paperwork...

"Mr. Death Reaper? There is no dead soul in this house to collect." She said firmly.

The suited Death Reaper opened his book and read out the name.

"Mr. Arthur Breton."

Merianna's breath cut short. "Yes…he was here yesterday…but our butler…"

She couldn't finish. After he had been knocked unconscious by Sebastian, she had no knowledge of what happened to him afterwards. Surely they sent him back home?

"He must not have died here." She concluded, the only logic left she could think of.

"Will! She's an angel that's trying to hide him! C'mon Will!" Grell pouted. "Hurry up or she'll tarnish it!"

Merianna wasn't sure what to do. Which one of them was right? And that Grell woman was getting on her nerves! There was only one way to find out. She didn't know Mr. Breton's fate herself.

"Well…I suppose if your intentions are honest, I will escort you through the house…but please don't do anything troublesome…!"

She stared at the strange beings up and down before making her way to the house, leading them. From the stories she read, one always had to be respectful to the spiritual deities (even though she was one herself), and was on her more respectful behaviour. She even refrained from shooting cold glares at Grell! She kept a hand on her cards just in case they tried to pull anything and constantly looked over her shoulder to check if they were still following. She let them through the back door, through the servants' quarters and downstairs, which was apparently where the body was located.

This time though, she had to let the Death Reapers lead, since they insisted that they touch the soul first '_since you are an angel' _Grell insisted. Merianna rolled her eyes. What interest would she possibly have in a stinking invisible corpse? They searched the wine cellar, the fermentation room, the cheese processing station, the poultry keep, and did not seem to relent in their search. Merianna was getting suspicious. What if they too, were thieves trying to steal valuables? She qualmed this thought with _Dris-Vit's _mind-analysis. They were honest about their work there, as unbelievable as they looked.

Suddenly, the crimson Death Reaper started sniffing the air.

"The scent of Sebastian's sweat~" she squealed delightedly.

She sniffed near a cabinet in one of the rooms. Merianna snatched a look at the ground, and then at the cabinet itself. It was heavily dusty (something that irritated her as a maid now), but there were signs that it had been moved on the ground. The suited Reaper took one side of the cabinet while the crimson one took the other, and they moved it out of the way. Merianna didn't even know there was a hidden passage here.

From behind the cabinet, there was a loose cloth nailed to the wall. Grell held the fold open.

"Ladies first."

Merianna stared at her. Why hadn't she entered yet? She kept her gaze for a while until she just had to look at her chest area. There was nothing very…noticeable…

"Oh…ahhh…excuse me…!" she muttered, face flushing red.

They obviously meant the only female in the group…which was her. Why hadn't she noticed? But then again, the crimson man had such long vibrant hair and such pretty clothing… Merianna cleared the thoughts away as she squatted and sidestepped under the cover. The first thing that hit her was the horrible stench that was steeping in the room. Disgusted, she took out a washing rag she had with her and covered her mouth and nose. The two Death Reapers came in after her, also commenting on the smell. Will took out a strange mechanism that when he flicked, set fire to all the candles in the room.

But Merianna wished he hadn't.

They found the source of the horrid stench all right. There was a corpse tied to a board, face mashed in a grotesque fashion and skin paling and shrinking. Merianna kept herself from gasping any more putrid air, and kneeled down to bury her face in her knees, feeling sick. Meanwhile, Will took out his book and examined it, returning to the body.

"That's him, Mr. Arthur Breton. Died of torture. Drowning, to be specific."

Merianna lifted her head up.

"T-Torture? That's impossible! That's unthinkable!" she stated. "It-It must be an accident!"

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Grell mused.

He took out a large whirring machine and instantly, a film record started flowing from the corpse. Merianna suddenly remembered something from quite a while ago. The same strand of memories and pictures from inside someone's soul, and a crimson demon-man trying to attack her, to cut off her wings.

"**Leave.**"

The two Reapers looked at her strangely.

"I said **leave! Right now!**"

She drew out a card, any card would do. So _An _it was. She called out her incantations before the Death Reapers could react, and instantly a flaming Morningstar orbited her.

"Well~ This brings back fond memories." Grell cooed, lashing out with his machine.

Behind him, Will drew out his hedge trimmer, busying himself by pruning the film strips. Merianna didn't want to pick a fight with him if she stayed out of the way. Summoning up more, she came closer to Grell, who had to knock away the dangerous objects. His machine cut through every one of them however, but Merianna could summon more and more until he would tire. The room started to fill up with smoke and fire. Even the wooden board and the tips of the carcass…

"Done! Now let's get out of here!" Will exclaimed.

Grell harrumph, and they disappeared in a flash. Merianna tried to regulate her breathing again, infuriated with her frustration of her confusion and letting that crimson Death Reaper get away once again. The horrible stench was now spreading even faster with the flames engulfing it. When she released her card, the morningstars disappeared, but the fire was eating up the place. Merianna stepped out of the horrible room without bothering to stop the inferno from eating away at whatever truth lay hidden inside.

* * *

With a final goodbye, Sebastian kicked off the lifeboat containing the bound and gagged criminals out into the open sea. When he went back to attend to his master, he was surrounding by the other passengers who were thanking and praising the 'lovely brave boy'. Sebastian sighed and yanked him out of that mess, carrying him all the way to his personal section of the boat. Ciel was exhausted from the stress of it all, and told Sebastian that he was going to retire early today.

"The ship has returned to being under control…says Wordsworth. The trip will continue on its pace." Snake reported.

Ciel nodded, just about to fall asleep. While Sebastian went to send him to sleep, Snake escaped to the deck, unable to fall asleep. There were few people that were there, as most had gone to bed as well. He kept his companions safe inside his suit so that they would not get too cold. He learned over the railing to peer into the waters that parted as the ship sailed on until he heard footsteps behind him.

"It didn't seem like we came to France for a bit of vacation time…said Kent."

The Phantomhive butler smiled. "You are correct."

"The _Ruji-Gerge_ people just now…didn't seem to seem to be your target…"

"Not entirely."

Sebastian started the explanation. "Originally, the Queen has asked us to take care of Mr. Arthur Breton, who was a valuable client to our company as well as our country. However, it seems a thief guild had taken his place trying to steal from our estate."

Snake's hand instinctively went to the side of his head that was still healing from the hit.

"The thief guild…_Rouge-Gorges_…it seems they were going to pull off a heist while escorting their impostor on this ship, although their plan has been miserably overthrown. The impostor was headed towards France, perhaps to meet up with the headquarters. We have certain connections to the underground there as well, so rooting out this anthill should be easier. Squash a colony before it can build, don't you agree?"

"It seems…strange…for a thief guild to be so…"

He wasn't sure how to finish that sentence, but Sebastian closed his eyes in thought, nodding slightly.

"They are amateurs after all, only now have they begun being more active."

"How many correspondents do you have in France?" Snake continued.

"Only one, but one should be enough."

* * *

Merianna had fallen asleep reading in the library again, having waken up to a sore back. She rubbed her eyes to rouse them as well. She had asked that she not be disturbed by the others while in the library, not even for dinner. She had tried to find any records on the Phantomhive estate and its family. Surely the body in the basement was a trick? Yet everything seemed to be the truth. The missions that the Death Reapers were on, the film strip that sprung out, the dead body…they all pointed to a dark side of the Phantomhive mansion that she had never known before. She had not even finished scanning through a bookshelf before she fell asleep on the warm couch. Perhaps sleep was better than finding the truth after all.

Now she was feeling a bit hungry.

Looking out the window, it was pitch dark. Of course it was night; she had slept through the evening. She scurried out of the library and towards the kitchen, hoping that she could find something small to satisfy her hunger, at least until morning. Her footsteps were light on the floors and the candle she had in her hand gave little light. In the kitchen, she searched around, although she was unsure of what exactly she would be looking for.

Oh,hoh,hoh,hoh…!

Merianna nearly jumped out of her skin and also spilled the candle wax on Tanaka, who was holding his own candle, and in his pajamas.

"Oh! Tanaka…I'm sorry, did I wake you?" she whispered, heart beat racing.

He shook his head, holding up a plate for her, full with cooked rice. She received it and smiled.

"Thank you Tanaka. I fell asleep in the library…and even at this time of the night…" she said embarrassingly.

The old man gave another laugh. That's right, he was very old, Merianna realized. A question that rested on her heart found its way onto her tongue, although she wasn't sure whether it was the right time to ask.

"Tanaka…you've…worked here for quite a long time…even when Ciel was a small child. What…Is there…Is this…I saw…"

She took a deep breath to summon up her courage.

"Well…I realized that…Finny, Bardroy, Snake…Meirin…we have…I guess…one would say… an _ability_ to…_harm people_. Finny with his strength, Bardroy with his battle tactics and Meirin with her guns...Now Snake with his serpents…Do you…Do you…Are we…Are we all just killing machines-?"

Her voice was stuck in her throat and she quickly set the plat on a nearby countertop to cover her mouth. A small sob escaped her mouth when she remembered the dead carcass in the basement. Which one of them could have done that? It was the horrifying thought that _anyone _in the house could have.

"I'm…I'm just a…a maid…here…But what do we really do here, Tanaka? What services are we really dealing with?"

Tanaka just shook his head sympathetically. "Perhaps it is because of your soft-heartedness that the Young Master has refrained from telling you, even if you've had prior suspicions…And now you bear the consequence of his decision…but it will all come to light soon, dear girl."

"I cannot tell you what it entails…" he continued, "It would be against my pride and duty. But you may wish to speak with him whence he returns. If only you had joined him in his travels."

She nodded understandably, admiring the stoic and wise servant. His words had certainly put her worries to rest and her heart at ease.

"Thank you, Tanaka."

She didn't feel the need to continue her search in the library anymore. She finished her dinner and headed to her room, singing of the fairy horse Falada and the magical steed Sleipnir. She was sure that she would find the truth soon.

* * *

Finally, the ship had reached the docks of Hainnesville, and everyone boarded off, carrying luggage and cases. The air was musky with the smell of fish and of course, fermenting wine. Ciel insisted that they find a suitable inn to rest at before going to explore the city further. At the docks, Snake pointed out a fairly modest ship by the same name as one of their friends. Sebastian made note to tease Merianna about the ship's name later. They were still quite a ways from their destination after all. After they settled down, they went to a local restaurant to eat, except that Ciel had ordered Sebastian to locate and bring in their correspondent.

While Ciel could read the menu, Snake had quite a bit of difficulty. Even more so when the waiter came and presumably asked them what they would like. Ciel went on with quite a bit of detail on how he wanted his meal, while Snake just pointed to a random dish and hoped for the best. The restaurant was surprisingly bare, but the noise from the tables was loud. There were a couple of old men laughing and having a beer next to Ciel's table.

"_Yeah! I wonder where that damsel's been off to now!_ _Took that kid right off with her!_"

"_My God, you're still bragging about being able to knock that woman up after all these years. Ahahahaha!_"

"_Well, it wasn't like she could've been passed around with you fellas! She was the absolute angel I've ever laid eyes on!_"

"Complete unrefinery…" Ciel muttered under his breath.

He hoped that Sebastian would hurry up. Finally, the food arrived. Ciel's was mutton that was braised and covered with a delicious looking sauce while Snake's seemed all too familiar. The snakes that peeked out of his coat suddenly hissed and burrowed deeper in.

It seemed that Hainnesville cuisine included a moulting snake fried and decorated on a lavish plate. (Don't quote me on this!)

Snake hurriedly excuse himself to go to the washroom.


	3. Truth and Dare

Today, Bardroy decided to go dispose of the body of the impostor that came by the house a while ago. Sebastian had told him where he kept the body, and to dispose of it once they left house, but he had forgotten in his haste. At least he remembered now, better late than never. He had a large burlap sack in his hands and a toothpick in his mouth to stay his cigarette craving. It had gotten better than a couple of years before and was steadily improving to just a box a month. At the stairs, he stopped. There was a heavy smell in the air, but it wasn't what he expected.

If the body had been there for a while, it certainly would have driven anyone away from the basement, possibly even the rats themselves. However, there was a musky dark smell, like the smell of his 'special surprise meat' pies.

He skipped down the stairs by 3 now, almost tripping and choking on the toothpick. The cabinet was no more than a pile of soot on the concrete floor. He grunted and bent to feel the ashes. They were cold. Whoever came here had come a while before. The hole in the wall was openly visible as well. He took out the toothpick before he could crush it in his teeth. There was absolutely no way a fire could explode here, and no one else was told where the body was hidden. He rushed back up the stairs and grabbed a broom and lantern from the kitchen. He readied himself for any traps the culprit had hidden for him. As he stepped into the secret compartment, he whipped the lantern around, but there was nothing in the root except for cold ashes and soot. Bardroy straightened himself and poked around the dirt with the broom.

Nothing. There was nothing at all in the room, which was what was bothering Bardroy. He needed to know who it was that was there and what they did with the body. It would be the fall of his job and the Phantomhive estate if someone outside had found their way in here. Except Snowy, who wasn't in on the dark side of the Phantomhive house. He didn't like the idea, but the chance that she had been the one burning the body was large. He had seen her training outside with Finny. Producing a small flame would be no problem.

He needed an emergency meeting with the other servants, except he needed to distract Merianna away. He would just have to sweep the dusts away and report it to Sebastian as soon as possible. Now, he went up the stairs three at a time. He burst through the door, slamming it into someone and set the lantern down before…

Wait wait wait…

He snapped his head back and there was a familiar scullery maid holding her face, squatted on the ground.

"Oh Christ!' he exclaimed. "Sorry, I didn't see you there!"

She pulled her head up with a hand over her nose, a brave expression on her face. He handed her a rag which she used to stop the bleeding from her nose.

"That's fine, that's fine!" she assured. "I needed the broom…Meirin broke another plate again. Ouch."

This was his chance.

"L-Let me take care of that!" Bardroy cut in. "I need you to…to uh…go into town!"

"A-A job?"

Her eyes gleamed a bit, excited to be relied upon.

He hastily beckoned her over to a table and shoved a piece of paper and pen in her hands, listing whatever ingredients came to his head. He was sure they had enough lettuce and eggs, but he sent her to get more anyways, whatever he could to make her stay in town for the longest time possible. He went on to list various utensils and hastily sent her off with Tanaka, whispering to Tanaka to drive as slowly as he could.

He raced back into the house, panting heavily into the garden, grabbing Finnian while he was watering the flowers and draped him over her the shoulder, rushing back into the house and locating Meirin by the trail of broken china. He picked her up with his other arm and carried them both into the kitchen, ignoring their wails and kicking while threatening to throw them off. He took a horse whip out of nowhere and smacked it on the table a few times to gather their attention.

"Now, were any of you aware of the body of the trespasser in the basement?"

Their expressions darkened.

"Well, Sebastian told you about it right? You did take care of it, right?" Meirin asked.

Bardroy let out a sigh.

"It wasn't any of us then…Not me, not Meirin, not Finny nor Tanaka. And Sebastian and Ciel ain't around either."

His eyes narrowed. "We'll be lucky to let her know the news as nicely as we could... but first we should clean everything up."

* * *

This was her chance.

Merianna let Tanaka drive around to park the carriage before slipping away into the crowd. Now that she was away from the house, she had the chance to go around and seek out what she wanted to know. She had a list of some of the Phantomhive contacts and correspondents around the area. She included the Indian prince and his servant, the head of Kunlun trades, the creepy undertaker who would give a lot of information in return for a joke and a few other contacts. She hastened her pace towards the undertaker's shop, although the air around her suddenly felt colder. Someone bumped against her and muttered a sorry; although she instinctively checked her pockets to make sure the money Bardroy had given her was still safe. Old habits die hard…and particularly makes one feel a sense of longing.

She held her breath as she stepped into the dark and depressing shop. She uttered a 'hello?' but no one answered. She stepped a bit closer to the counter, looking around for any sign of the eccentric storekeeper. She leaned in on the counter to relax the stress on herself, raking a hand on her head.

Suddenly, a cold bony hand grabbed her shoulder and dragged backwards, shoving her into a coffin. She shrieked and kicked until the voice calmed her…somewhat…

"How does that coffin feeeeeel….miss?"

She opened her eyes and looked around. Luckily, the Undertaker had not closed the door on her. In fact, the cushioned inside felt quite nice and snug around her. She'd just wish he had asked instead of being so spontaneous.

"F-Fine." She answered, looking up at his face.

He had a large ebony lid in his hands.

"May I?" he asked, a grin on his face.

"W-W-Wait! I can't-"

That didn't stop him from slamming the lid on the coffin. He sat upon it while listening to the prisoner inside scratch the lid from the inside and try to kick him off. He snickered, enjoying himself with this torture.

"Normal humans usually run out of air within an hour…trapped within a coffin…"

He heard a panicking banging inside and the futile kicks became stronger and faster.

"If I sent you off to the cemetery director…I wonder how many would notice…perhaps none will…"

The screaming was now more angry and louder. He was laughing a bit now, and sat up from the lid, turning to lift it off. The girl inside sat up, gasping for breath and sweating heavily. The scene cracked him up and he clutched his stomach while laughing. The girl clambered out and was threatening to hit him on the head…but refrained her fist.

"So…you've come here for a bit of…information…?"

Merianna was about to ask him how he knew, but a look at the estranged man reminded her that she had much work to do.

"Yes…I want to know…what you know…about the Phantomhive estate…I mean…why does Master Ciel always come to you for information…instead of things like spies or the police?"

She quickly added. "Not that I doubt your use, Mr. Undertaker…sir…"

The man pulled at his bangs.

"If you die…I wonder if I would need to make a coffin for you…"

Merianna stayed quiet, although visibly shaken from the thought.

"Well, what would you expect from the Queen's Watchdog?"

Merianna leaned in. "Queen's...dog?"

"Do you mean that you've been working for the Phantomhive household for 3 years and you still don't know?"

He burst out in cackling laughter when Merianna couldn't respond. She had certainly heard the name a few times, but never thought much of it. She held her chin in her hands to concentrate on her thoughts.

"Whatever problem that royal lady give him, he does without question. Loyalty to the Queen indeed…That is the Queen's Watchdog. Any kind of mission…any kind…any kind…"

Of course, Merianna thought. He would have mission from the Queen to go here or go there, inspect this place, take care of this guest, attend this ball and attend to other affaires. So Watchdog was simply a harmless nickname.

"Do you know…what happened to…uh…?"

It was hard to say a dead man's name.

"Ah…the stranger that came into your estate….not too long ago…" the Undertaker finished.

Her ears perked up.

"Arthur Breton…no… only a man who was impersonating…Mr. Breton… a desperate drug addict…who was low on money…but high on opium… I would know of course… I am the one who sold this information to the Earl…!"

Merianna soaked in his words. The man they had let in was a thief wanting to sell the items for a profit. A profit that was going to be spent on…what was it? Openiem? A drug… But that didn't answer the worm eating at her. No matter what the identity that man was, why was he dead in the Phantomhive basement?

She looked back up at the tall man again, trying to see if he was telling the truth or not, but his eyes were blocked by his long hair. He busied himself with rearranging the tags on the coffins and caskets while Merianna studied him. Ciel Phantomhive was always relying on the Undertaker for information, but how did he know so much?

"_…M-Morte la b-bête, mort l-le venin…*_" she whispered shakily.

"Hmmm? What was that? …If you want more…information…you should investigate that Chinese man…ehehehe perhaps you will find out more…at a cheaper price too…! I think I am done…business for today…"

The Undertaker fell dramatically, landing perfectly into a coffin. Before Merianna could draw any closer, he pulled the lid from beside him and closed himself in. Merianna didn't want to approach it or question the creepy Undertaker any more. When she turned around to leave, there was a note on the door that she didn't notice before. Looking back at the closed coffin and back, she drew closer to look at it.

It had map drawn in black ink, probably where she was going to head next.

* * *

There was a stairway to the basement of the seemingly abandoned building. This area of the country seemed so detached from the rest, despite being so near the Thames River. She hesitated and looked at the map in her hands again. An arrow pointed to a stairway that led to darkness, but on the other side of it was a star. Merianna softly knocked on the door. She noted how warm it was, despite leading to a cool underground. There was no answer, so she tried again, a little harder.

She turned to leave when the door opened slightly. It made her jump out of her skin, but she opened it fully. A man lazily walked back to one of the numerous benches that were lined up in the space. Merianna stepped inside and closed the door behind her (a habit she developed). The first thing she noticed was the heavy smoke that infiltrated her lungs. Her eyes stung a bit and she coughed it out. There were many people there, lazing about on the cushioned benches. It looked like a hospital of a sort. They all looked sick, with blank, dead eyes and bodies that didn't seem to care about efficiency or time.

She opened the door again to breathe a bit of fresh air, but then an annoyed voice yelled at her in a language she didn't understand. She swiftly apologized and shut the door. Perhaps these people didn't like the daylight. She used her apron to help clench her nose and made her way down the aisle, keeping her eyes on the ground. There were many people here, how many of them knew of the Earl of Phantomhive? How many even spoke the language? She turned around to look at the questionably-alive people. They all seemed of Asian descent, and didn't look to be in the mood for conversation. Perhaps she would have to ask the owner of the establishment.

She took a moment to wipe her eyes. The smoke made them burn. By now, of course, she couldn't hold her breath much longer and when the breathed in the sweet, but sticky air again, her body rejected it. Someone in the benches rustled and grumbled something while she fell to her knees, desperately trying to control her breaths. She wondered how much of the air was smoke, and how little was oxygen. Her lungs couldn't hold out for much longer, and her brain decided to fight her mind and knocked Merianna unconscious.

…And when she awoke, she was lying on a green couch, somewhere still inside the underground chambers, but in a more ventilated area. Her head was throbbing and when she sat up, felt like lightning surged around her brain. She felt nauseatingly dizzy and spied a bucket next to her, hastily grabbed it and let out her stomach.

"Oya oya…what are you doing there? We were using that water to clear your forehead, young lady."

She couldn't answer until her stomach and guts were fully emptied. And even then she had to take a few minutes to compose herself. One of the girls wearing a Chinese dress gave her a warm towel to clean her face with and took away the bucket. Merianna struggled to get back on her feet, falling back onto the couch. The man who spoke was a familiar visitor of the estate. Lau, head of a large and important Chinese trading company, gazed at her with his usual look.

"Did the Earl send you here?" he asked, shuffling something in his large sleeves.

Merianna wiped her mouth on her sleeve, and shook her head. Her head was still faint from the smoke. She wondered how the others didn't seem to gasp and grow sick in that smell.

"I see." The noble replied.

He seemed to relax a bit more, and stopped shuffling around his sleeves.

"So how may I help you, young lady?"

Merianna held her tongue for a bit, not expecting such a high class person to be here. It would have been easier to meet a stranger who wouldn't have the chance of telling her master what she had been doing instead of her chores at the house…

"Uh…what is this place…sir? Izzit...A…A…A ho-ho-hospital?"

She grabbed her apron to try to wipe the sweat off her hands.

"Hm…well.."

He chuckled.

"A bit like that… Although I wouldn't expect good girls like you to be customers here…"

He drew closer, a dark look around his face.

"So you're looking for answers…I was told…"

Merianna's back straightened. The Undertaker must have told him in advance! Then what was the reason that she had to come all the way to this place?! She nodded, swallowing whatever was stuck in her throat.

"I would tell you…but it's not within my power to divulge answers like that…that sort of thing…no one really talks about, you see?"

So this man couldn't help her at all. She had probably set off home anyways. She stood up and bowed to thank him for his time.

"And so, what was the question?"

The sudden irony knocked her off her feet. On the ground, she whispered angrily to herself, _I should have expected that to happen…_she got up and returned to her seat, embarrassed for having fallen for such an overused trick. Ran-Mao came in and sidled up beside Lau, making Merianna awkwardly stare at the floor in a heated blush.

"I…want to know…a…a…a bit more about…C-C-Ciel Phantomhive…"

Lau took a heavy black and gold pipe in his hands, out of his sleeve.

"Why don't we discuss this upstairs…?" he suggested.

They stayed on the balcony in the cool evening air, where Lau could smoke his pipe without it heavily affecting Merianna. She didn't have to ask much before Lau reveal all that she never knew. Her eyes widened with every word and she tried to distract herself by watching the people few below. But here were the facts, the proof, and the evidence that led to the truth. Her mind was dizzy again, but it hurt her heart this time. The fact that she was _not _aware of all that happened around her was a sad fact.

The Phantomhive family did more than just the Queen's orders. There was so much more that she had never thought of. The underground mafias, gangs, illegal activities…all were under the feet of the Phantomhives. The imposter had simply been one of the many, a simple cockroach that found itself under their shoe. Assassinations, interrogations, spy work, betrayal…was all underneath their umbrella of modus operandi.

Lau excused himself, saying that he had to go check on his guests. It was obvious that Merianna was holding in her sobs and needed time alone.

She fell to her knees and let the chill wind bring the tears out of her.

"I didn't want this! I didn't want this!" she wailed, clenching her fists close to her chest.

"I thought I left that kind of life behind…the kind of life where everyone dies all for the sake o-of…of…money!"

There was crime all around her, and death always followed. How long would it be before Meirin fired her last shot, while Bardroy and Finny were sentenced to hanging or the rifle range? How long could a small child last in a prison after living so lavishly all his life? She left a life of stealing, and suffered through the hunger of living honestly. It seemed that fate drew her once again into the vices of humanity, and it was worse than before.

"Murderers! Cut-throats! Criminals! Liars!... Why couldn't I just have stayed a petty thief?! This was the future of our gang…! Except we would've all been hung up to die like pigs…! Not sitting in a wealthy mansion surrounded by bodyguards and…and…"

She heard the voices of her cards beside her, whispering her name in sympathy.

* * *

Merianna came back very late, saying that she ran into trouble in the streets. It was a relief that she arrived back safely. She seemed to stare at them more than usual, and they also mimicked the action. She wasn't hungry, and opted to skip dinner to escape to the library. The servants felt tense, this was putting some distance between them.

"I…I can't do this…" Bardroy grunted. "It's just too heavy… This atmosphere…"

Meirin sighed. "The truth does often hurt…How are we supposed to approach her?"

"Maybe just one of us should go…We don't want to make it too…upfront…" Finnian suggested.

"Rock…"

"Paper…"

"Scissors…"

Perhaps Finny lost that one on purpose.

_I don't want this… _

Merianna sat in front of the fireplace, African atlas open at her feet and blanket wrapped around her. Her eyes and cheeks were red and swollen from crying. _Xis_, advocate for all her friends, danced around in the Bitter Rabbit plush in an attempt to make Merianna laugh.

"Am I truly an angel…?" she whispered to herself. "Am I angel by right of birth, or how everyone else sees me?"

She buried her head in her arms to delve deeper into herself, hoping the answers were there somewhere.

_Wha…What kind of angel…advocates corruption? That's right…I'm a different kind of angel…Four wings…freak!_

She closed the atlas and tears were welling up in her eyes again. She felt her forehead, underneath her long let-down hair.

_Be good…Be good…he said… How would he look at me now…? _

Merianna took the hand of the Bitter Rabbit, and brought it close into her chest, feeling a little more comforted just by holding it in her arms.

_That's what all corrupted lives lead to…loneliness…despair…and I'm left here…Everyone else has to go away to pay their crimes…And I never see them again. Is that what will happen to everyone here? Sebastian, Master Ciel, Tanaka, Meirin, Finny, Bardroy, Pluto and Snake too? And where will that leave me…? I am…much too scared…of losing anyone else…_

"Why…" she whispered. "Why is money and power so important? Isn't it just enough…that we should have each other?"

_Should I… become like them? They are…my family now…I should suffer what they have to suffer too. But…it's not right…to do wrong upon another…_

She shuffled, trying to wrap the blanket tighter around herself. She gazed into the mystic of the fire blazing hypnotically, losing herself for a while. Every time she imagined herself about to strike down a person, those words would ring in her head.

_Be good._

How could she ever kill a human being? And yet, the memories of past actions haunted her. Because of her naivety, the souls of all the wayward children assembled in the church were all stolen by the twisted angel, Ashe. The burden of that would lie heavy on anyone's shoulders.

…_I'm sorry…_

If she could give them back their lives, she would…

_This is the ideology of the guilty…condemned to carry the burden of having taken away a life…_

Maybe there wasn't a difference between a murderer and herself, after all…

"Is there…anyone who can help me…? I want to know…**why** Master is doing all these things… Yes…no matter what reasons the others may have…it all leads to him…Is there anyone…?"

She, of course, was talking to her cards. Which one would reply? She breathed out, and suddenly the scene was different when she opened her eyes. She was with her mother, who was visiting one of her sick students. She saw the scene from both her own eyes, and the viewpoint of an omnipresent figure. The young lady was deathly thin, and her fingers seemed like toothpicks. Still, her mother took a hold of them.

"Maman…what's happening? Why isn't she able to walk?" the young Merianna asked.

Her mother sighed, replying in French.

"This is the end of a human life, dearest. Such is mortal life… "

The young woman started breathing heavily, gasping and clawing at her bed sheets and chest. The sight caused Merianna to gasp and hide behind her mother, clasping onto her skirt in fright.

"…D-Does it hurt…? It looks li-like…it hurts…"

The mother unhinged her child's hands off her and walked to the student's head, placing a hand over her eyes. With a soft whisper, the young lady calmed down. Merianna watched carefully, amazed at how it qualmed the spasms. The lady seemed less frightening now that she had calmed down. Merianna approached the lady as her mother stepped back.

"If it hurts too much…release that pain… It is wrong to have people suffer." Her mother dictated.

But something seemed wrong. The lady seemed to be sleeping now, but she didn't move at all. She didn't even raise her chest or mumble things in her sleep.

"Maman…she is not moving…Will she wake soon?"

"Merianna!" her mother snapped.

The woman grabbed the child's hand and bent down to face her.

"Listen to me well, child. When people suffer, this is what becomes of them. This girl will not wake up. She will never wake up. She will _never_ see the waking dawn again! This girl now, is finished. Her story will not continue. That, Merianna, is Death. And our job as higher beings…is to free these poor souls from suffering."

That night, Merianna had trouble sleeping. She was afraid that Death would creep up from underneath her bed and steal her breath away. She would stay confined in the darkness of sleep and no one would ever see her again. The small naps she took only resulted in nightmares. She would wake up screaming and crying. Eventually, her mother came in and took her daughter into her arms, asking what the matter was.

"Merianna…Death is not frightening…not to us… We are in no danger. Come now, it is strife that corrupts the nature, and that is why she met an early end. Merianna, you are too young, and Death will certainly not take you away so soon…he is like…a great angel that swoops down to carry those who are too burdened with life…Do not be frightened, little one… I am here with you…"

Somehow, Merianna managed to fall asleep that night. The next day, she found herself playing in the woods again, looking for flowers and pretty rocks. That was when she stumbled upon the carcass of a dead fox. She gasped and dropped everything in her hands, taking a hiding spot behind a fallen tree. Although she felt sorry for the dead animal, she wanted to see what Death looked like. She waited, looking for signs of wings.

Eventually, a bunch of black birds came swooping down onto the carcass. Their loud cawing and rustling made it hard for Merianna to concentrate. There were so many that it was hard to see what they were doing to the fox. She left immediately, worried that Death would come after her next. She had witnessed Death indeed; it took the shape of black birds.

When she arrived back at the entrance, she sat down and replayed the scene of seeing Death come to the poor fox. Ah yes, they were black birds. They spoke in loud language and they left feathers everywhere. How many were there? She wasn't sure.

"There's two of us! For sure! For sure!"

She opened her eyes and looked beside her. There were two small black birds there, yet they seemed transparent and smoky black. Their smoke was drifting and swaying in the air, like feathers being dropped. She gasped when she saw them, but their beady eyes met hers, and she felt like they were already friends.

"Ka~ Ka~ You don't need to be scared of us, Merianna! Your mother said that we were alright. We aren't going to hurt you!"

"That's right!" the other one clacked, "We're your friends, Merianna ka~ That's right! You can uhh…You can call us _Torez _ka~!"

* * *

"M-M-Meri?" Finnian mumbled, opening the door to the library.

He peeked inside, where Merianna was sitting near the open window, writing something on her lap. The fire was lit and gave the whole room a soft, orange glow. The lights bounced off the covers of books and the tapestries. Finny approached, leaving the door slightly ajar.

"Meri? Can we talk?" he asked gently.

She looked up from her writing at him with a soft recognition of his name. A small smile appeared on her face when she nodded, but it disappeared like a breath slipping away.

(there wasn't much choice there, finny…)

She put her paper and pen aside on the table as Finny sat on the wind sill.

"M-Merianna…really likes this place, right? And everyone here as well?"

She clasped her hands together, but nodded.

"We're really the same as you, Meri! All of us…"

She gripped her hands tighter. He noticed and quickly bent down to sit on the ottoman in front of the chair. He took her hands.

"And that's why we'd never hurt one another! We want you to trust us…we're…not exactly the best people…but we love each other like a family! Y-You know…what you…maybe saw…in that basement…it wa-"

"Real…I know Finny…I'm…sorry…"

"Meri…Meri…will you look at me?"

Merianna didn't raise her head. Even though her hands were nested in Finny's, they were sitting there half-heartedly, just waiting to be pulled away.

"Merianna….won't you look at me…?"

"I'm sorry…Finny…what are we…? Why do we brandish…justice…only to cut people down? I've never wanted this…I don't want…to hurt people…not anymore…We…we… criminals…we'll all be sentenced to death…"

Finnian was unable to take the loss of faith in her words and the rejection of her usual warm nature. He held her hands to his head and cried. She wouldn't even look in his eyes anymore. He couldn't tell if she was even crying or not, but he was sure that inside, she was. She couldn't even show her tears to him anymore.

"W-We…We didn't want to l-l-lie to you like…like this! We really didn't, Merianna! We were afraid…that you'd run away…that you'd never look at us again! We don't want that!"

He wiped his cheeks and nose with his sleeve.

"I…don't want to lose anyone…everyone is precious to me…that's why I want to protect you and everyone else in this household…no matter what! You are my light! You are what I want to protect most! Please don't…hate me, Merianna… Please…"

He took a moment to compose himself.

"Before, when I was nothing more than a beast, it was the Young Master and Sebastian who came along…and gave me purpose in this life. If it's for his sake, I will fight…I will injure…I'll even become evil! That is…what I decided when I came to this mansion."

Merianna realized now… that it was all tied to Ciel Phantomhive, the head of estate, the Earl, the Queen's Watchdog. If there was anyone who could stop this system, it was him.

"I see…it's because of Master Ciel…" she said.

"Meri..? What are you going to do?" Finny asked. "What are you going to do?"

"I want to talk to Master Ciel…perhaps if…I talked to him… he would stop…"

Finnian already knew what the answer would be, but he simply put on a smile. It wouldn't be any good if Merianna heard his answer from anyone else.

"Yes, you should give it a try." He encouraged, a bit forced out.

She stood up and went to the windowsill, drawing out the _Death _card_._

"I…just don't want to lose anyone here…After what happened when I came here…I don't want to go down that same path again… Jake…Jake…"

She stifled herself and clenched her fists to hold everything in.

"I never saw him again... What will happen when history repeats that to the rest of you?"

Finny couldn't answer, as much as he wanted to reassure her. She whispered something, paused, and mumbled something else. A strong wind suddenly blew into the room, forcing the two to brace themselves. The fire went out and irate book pages fluttered in the gale until it calmed. Two crows sat on perched on the windowsill, their feathers made of smoke still wafting delicately.

The left one squawked "Ka~ It's Merianna! It's been so long since you last played with us!"

"You've grown quite a bit! Ka~" the other replied.

"C-Can you help me, _Torez_?" Merianna asked. "I hate to summon you out...after such a long interlude..."

Finny brought his face closer to examine the window, looking past at the horizon and scanned the inside of the room.

"Who are you talking to, Meri?"

"...Just friends...Two birds." she replied.

"How rude Ka~! He doesn't seem to notice us! Doesn't he know that he's looking right at Death? Ka~?"

Merianna kept quiet while Finny seemed to understand that something was going on. He scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Promise me you'll come to the drawing room later to play board games with Meirin, Bard, Tanaka and I?"

Merianna smiled. "I shall."

* * *

* "_Dead is the beast, dead is the venom_" meaning the same as "_Dead men tell no tales_" ...how _does_ Undertaker know all this then?


	4. Robins and Wrens

Ciel and Sebastian sat in the small inn room, surrounding a low coffee table piled with maps of the area, lists of names, various emblems and photos and even various drinks. In front of them was one of their correspondents, spying on the activity of the troublesome Rouge-Gorges and relaying the information back to England. Snake stood guard outside the room-also so that his snakes wouldn't scare their special friend.

"Please start, Mr. Harrier."

The man harrumphed and snatched up a map of the local area, dropped it, accidentally pushed some papers off the table and cleared his throat. He was visibly nervous in front of such a regal fourteen year old and his lurking butler.

"Well, Sirrah, I've snooped around for some suspicious people, but really, this town's full of drunkards and adulterers it's hard to pinpoint who's a Rouge-Gorge or not...Ay, there's this silly rumour going arounds the peopl-"

Sebastian immediately cut in. "Let's get back to the topic, shall we?"

Mr. Harrier nodded, a bit flushed, and continued on.

"There ain't been many reports of thievery or nothing, aside from a few purses or satchels grabbed. I've followed the petty thieves, but they just go straight home or to the pawn's. No secret area or hideout."

He picked up a map of the area, held onto it tight, and asked the butler for a pen. Sebastian quickly delivered and the man started going over the map, circling various places.

"These are the few abandoned buildings in the town. Most of 'em I've checked already. The owners have all died or moved out. It's just sitting there, rotting wood and musk. Don't think any gang would occupy these places."

He paused to take a breather, moving onto the list of names.

"Here are the names of everyone in the town, grouped according to their household. It's a small town, most of it families."

He raised a finger as a signal to keep listening.

"I noticed that the ones without families, they're around the same age. They spend a lot of time with each other. I followed one of their members for a week, where they go to taverns and drink themselfs out. The place that they frequents most is the one you mentioned to me, their meeting place."

Ciel leaned forward and examined another sheet, the one with the suspected mens' names on.

"And do you have their profiles?"

Mr, Harrier grimaced. "This town ain't the type to go relaying any information to any outsiders. I've been here two...almost three years and it's hard to find anything out from the peoples."

He shook his head and continued. "Yeah, it can only be following 'em personally that we can find out anythings. And the police ain't nothing here. They got a station, but all that's there are files and empty desks. The peoples says they're waiting for the king to send some to take care of their town, but we all know he's too stupid to send any officers to this ruddy place."

"Did you _search _the files?" Sebastian asked, stressing on its importance.

"'Course I did!" he snapped. "They've got a few crimes...most of it about their behaviour when drunk. Only one's been stickin' out in his profile. Says he's been accused of rape, abuse, disorderly behaviour... Worst of the bunch, I says. He's tried to stowaway in a ship to England once. I watched him at a tavern tryin'a pay for his drinks with...this."

He pointed to a cast metal circle that rested on the table. It was silver, a close up on a bird's torso cast in the centre. A smudge of red lay upon its throat. No doubt it was the symbol of the Rouge-Gorges. Ciel picked it up to examine, before passing it onto Sebastian.

"This is..." Sebastian commented, "...very poorly forged."

The two turned their attention to him as he analyzed it, even going so far as to lick the artifact.

"It seems to be mostly silver, but the quality of the silver differs in most places… much like taking dark chocolate and melting it together with milk chocolate. As in here... the colour is slightly darker, and less reflective of the light than the silver in the bird's beak. The cracks here, although not very visible, seem to be a forging mistake, as not all the material was enough to fill in the die."

Sebastian returned the object to the table and cleared his throat, addressing Mr. Harrier.

"I would infer that this was made by melting down various silver items, then re-forging them into this emblem. Due to the imperfections, I would say that they had quite a quantity of them to make. Is there anyone in this town that has access to blacksmith tools, or who even has the same object in their possession?"

Mr. Harrier replied, "I asked the local pawn broker, blacksmith and antique owner… none of them seemed to recognize it…the only reason I have this is because I paid for that man's drinks. Hirond Roitelet…his name."

He sighed and let his hand pull at his face, as if he regretted the decision. The wind whistled outside, and then came a rapping at the window (Nevermore! Caw caw!). Sebastian opened the window and peered outside.

"There's nothing here, Young Master. Perhaps it was just an airborne pebble."

Ciel returned to his correspondent, but he wore a look of terror and point to the pages on the table. Ciel traced his line of sight to where two black bird-like footprints were on the page. He blinked a couple of times before drawing near.

_Ciel Phantomhive_ was written in fine ink on the page.

"What is this…?" Mr. Harrier murmured.

"It seems to be addressed to you, Young Master. Should I get rid of it?"

Ciel held a hand to stop his butler, drawing near the page.

"Yes?" he asked the invisible entity.

The black ink faded into the page before resurfacing in different letters.

_Message to you_

"Who are you?" Ciel asked suspiciously

_Death_

To this, Sebastian chuckled.

"Certainly this is a ruse. Death does not take such a passive form."

The page remained blank for a while.

_We are as we were imagined, by our friend. We may not be Death itself, but we are Death in the cards. That is who we are._

_Speak, and we will write your words. Wait and you will receive the reply._

The page was wiped blank once again, and then turned into a smoky gray and black, as if there was a hidden fire being lit. Yet no smoke spilled beyond the sheet. The three of them remained silent.

_Do you repeat everything I say to him? _Inscribed in red ink

_Yes _was written in black ink

_Uh…o-okay then…Should I begin now? _Appeared in red

_It has already begun_ faded in the page with black ink

_Ciel? _Written with red ink

"Who is this?" Ciel asked.

_Merianna…sir…These are my friends helping me._

"Should I leave?" Mr. Harrier asked anxiously.

Ciel ignored his request, for now.

"What is the matter? Did something happen at the house?"

The paper stayed blank for a while.

_No…_

The group stayed in silence, waiting for an explanation.

_H-How are you doing?_

Ciel had a look of annoyance on his face.

"Merianna, what is it?" he asked.

…_What are you doing right now?_

Ciel and Sebastian both turned their gaze towards Mr. Harrier, who grew uncomfortable under their judging gaze.

"Nothing." Ciel replied.

_I uh…Found the body…sorry…_

Ciel was alarmed when he read the crimson ink, turning to Sebastian.

"I thought I ordered you to take care of it!" he hissed quietly, hoping that it wouldn't be transcribed.

Sebastian shrugged his shoulders.

"My apologies. I entrusted the job to Bardroy."

_Why?_

Ciel turned back to the page, his head lowered from the doubt in that one word.

"Because I have to."

_But you have a lot of money already, and the Queen can ask the other nobles to share the work, right? Master Ciel…can we not be happy with what we already have here? I lost my family to __**that**__…Everyone…involved…in criminals acts…they all end up hung by ropes, left forgotten in prisons or sent somewhere far away. Cousins…I…don't want that…._

_I don't want to be left alone…when everyone else is already gone. _

Ciel sighed, and leaned back in his seat. How was he to approach this?

"Merianna. There's no other way…if that is what you're thinking. This is my duty. As for my own safety, leave that to me. And your family…is not all gone. We'll be fine over on this side."

…_Please come back safely…_

Just as the crimson words left the page, there was a cawing sound and a rustle of feathers. The wind picked up, even though they were inside a closed room, and when it calmed, the pages were scattered throughout the room, yet none of them bore the mark of black or crimson ink anywhere.

"What a friendly sentiment to spend on a servant…" Sebastian chided.

"It's your fault for being so lazy in dealing with these things." Ciel rebutted.

"Is it a sin to steal the freedom of a sparrow by tethering it to your finger when you are so lonely for companionship?" Mr. Harrier mumbled quietly.

Ciel shot him a cold glance. He had no business in this. Harrier returned the gaze. Sebastian quickly snatched up the escapee papers and put them, stacked tightly and neatly, back onto the coffee table.

* * *

Ciel's plan was set in motion. He and Sebastian were to meet at the tavern, where the fake Mr. Breton was set to meet at the time. Meanwhile, Snake and Harrier would sneak into Mr. Roitelet's house and search for any clues. Harrier was an experienced lock-picker and his knowledge of the town would help Snake sneak in much more easily. They planned to meet near the docks at midnight to discuss their findings.

Of course, this would mean that Ciel and Sebastian had to dress down by wearing clothing that would make them blend into the crowd. They went out without their coats, shirts not completely buttoned and suspenders slipping. Ciel was obviously not in a good mood. They took a table near the back corner of the area, although it was not crowded at all. The owner had his full attention to them as they ordered the most expensive things on the menu.

The two watched the owner of the tavern stumble back into the kitchen. His wife came with their drinks. Unfortunately for Ciel, he had to put up with the unrefined and diluted tea so as not to blow their cover. The wife soon disappeared into the kitchen as well. The whole tavern was eerily quiet, and it was hard for Ciel to find the right moment to speak to Sebastian. Sebastian however, drew out a pen and paper from his pocket, sliding it over to where Ciel sat. Ciel scanned the area for any possible spy holes or eavesdroppers, but the scene was devoid of any life other than them. He checked his pocket watch for the time. It was already fifteen minutes after the proposed meeting time…what had happened?

_Sebastian, check the area around this tavern. Look for any suspicious peoples._

Sebastian nodded, suddenly standing up.

"I FEEL A NEED TO GO WATER THE FLOWERS. I SHALL DO MY BUSINESS OUTSIDE." He announced.

Ciel facepalmed. He didn't need to be that dramatic, but he supposed there was no one there to overhear anyways. Sebastian casually walked out of the doors, and Ciel was left alone. The tavern owner and his wife came out with steaming plates in their hands, smiling eagerly as they placed it on the table.

"A nice steak for the child, and a soup for your butler. Bon appétit!" he cheerily said. (in French)

Ciel thanked them with a smile cheaply plastered on his face. He pretended to be waiting for the dish to cool down, blowing on it and smelling in the aroma.

_I haven't told anyone that I have a butler, and it's not visually presented…_he thought.

_Trap…_

From his pocket, he took out a thin silver needle, and stuck it into the dish. It sank in easily, and just as easily, Ciel pulled it out. The tip of it was turning green and brown. Ciel knew that silver would react to poisons, and he always kept a silver needle with him whenever he ate at strange places. This was definitely a trap. Just when he was going to lift his eye patch, something sparked a flame that was suddenly rushing towards him. He glanced at the ground where there was a trail of liquid helping lead the fire towards him. He stood up and jumped a length away from the table, knocking into other chairs and rolling on the ground. From there, he saw the bag of gunpowder taped to the underside of the table.

"Shit!"

* * *

The lights were off at the house. It was a cold night, so the two men were eager to get into the house- especially Snake. Shivering in the night air, he urged Harrier to pick the lock more efficiently. Harrier shushed him and kept concentrating. Finally, a sound was heard and the door gave way (ib!). Harrier opened the door slightly, and right away, there were snakes slithering at his feet, hurrying to get into the warm house. Harrier stepped back in surprise, and Snake was quick to take the lead into the house.

He looked around for his snakes, and found them all safe and curious about their surroundings. He looked around for a bit. They entered in a kitchen and Harrier had already started opening the cabinets and drawers. Snake however, took a more technical approach, communicating with his snakes to see what they could find. Any secret areas or hidden passages would be interesting to find. The house creaked when it settled, and then came the footsteps. Snake sensed it too, a strong heat source other than them. He hissed Harrier's name quietly, and pointed to the doorway that led to the rest of the house. Harrier grimaced and was just about to jump out the window before Snake grabbed his collar and slammed him against the wall near the door.

They were going to ambush him as he came through the threshold, it seems. Snake's friends came slithering back to him, entering underneath his clothes as they coiled around his arms, ready to attack. The man yelled something to the empty house, but Snake couldn't understand French. He guessed that he was trying to address them. They didn't reply, and once he came through the threshold, Snake snapped his arm out, and his snakes hissed as they flew through the air, wrapping themselves around the man's head. He screamed as he fell on the floor. Harrier was just about to strike the fallen man with a wooden chair he picked up when Snake block his attack with his arm, blood dripping from where the hit connected.

"Don't hurt us…says Celia…"

"R-Right…s-s-sorry…" Harrier apologized.

The man was still screaming when the snakes bit into him and let go, scurrying back to the safety of Snake's body. He crawled backwards until he hit the wall, glaring at the men. He screamed something, clutching the wound on his arm. Harrier replied in French, and kicked the man in the stomach.

"The snake toxin…is going to kill him in an hour…says Bronte. I have the antidote, but only if he answers our questions." Snake explained.

"Tch. You're scary…" Harrier commented, but translated to the man.

The man looked at them with round, scared eyes, yelling and sobbing. Snake pulled out the small vial of green antidote, just to prove his word. The man seemed to believe him now, falling back on the wall. Harrier pulled out the silver Rouge-Gorge symbol from his breast pocket and showed it to the man, asking him something in French. The man answered, sobbing and hardly able to string his words together. Snake watched the two; it looked like the man was confessing a lot. Suddenly, Harrier threw the silver object at him, and caused a dent in the wall beside his ear. He kicked the man in the stomach, stopped beside him, and tugged on the collar of his shirt.

The man was repeating something. When Harrier pressed him for more, the man repeated, only louder. It sounded like he was saying… 'Merianna'. Or perhaps that he was just talking about the ship they had arrived on.

"Emily asked…What is he saying?" asked Snake.

Harrier looked back at him and replied:

"He **is** part of the Rouge-Gorges. But he says he ain't affiliated with 'em!"

He picked up the silver artifact and shoved it into Roitelet's face, interrogating him further. He shook his head madly, denying anything to do with it. Harrier wrapped his fist around the circlet part so that it acted as a knuckler. He punched the man in the face, repeating something.

Snake wasn't sure what he should do. Harrier must have been trained in the technique of interrogation. The man was terrified out of his mind, and they seemed to be getting a lot of information out of him…but how much was too much? Snake put a hand on his companion's shoulder, a sign to have mercy on the poor man before they murdered him.

Harrier got up and sighed, dropping the silver emblem. It clinked when it hit the floor, and the rest of the air was filled with the sounds of heavy breathing and sobbing. Roitelet now sported a bruised cheek, swelling and reddening. His nose seemed crooked and was bleeding heavily. They had their information. Or so Snake hoped. As a sign that they were done, Snake tossed the vial of antidote at the torn soul. There wasn't any reason to though; the snakes were non-venomous, despite their painful bite. The antidote was nothing more than green juice.

Harrier started to walk away, feeling and cradling his fist. Snake followed behind him. He heard Roitelet trying to stand on his own feet, falling, and getting back up again. He said something, something that sounded threatening. Then he laughed wickedly. Snake didn't have time to react before Harrier drew out a silver gun from his coat and shot the man right in the head. He screamed and then became quiet. Harrier was breathing heavily, and returned the gun to the inside of his coat. There is no snake in the world that is as scary and venomous as a man in rage.

* * *

When Ciel opened his eyes, he was (somewhat) glad to see Sebastian there, carrying him while he was on top of the nearby house. They watched the tavern go up in flames.

"Apologies for the tardiness, Young Master. There seems to have been a messenger from the gang that was hiding near the back of the building. He was told to bribe the owners to put some poison in your food. If you did eat it, I will have to find a way to pump your stomach ou-"

"There's no need for that." Ciel snapped. "So they knew we came. We had better go meet up with the others. Perhaps they fared better."

Two bodies emerged from the flames, crawling out with their arms. They reached out to call for help, but Ciel stayed silent, watching the two sinners burn.

* * *

Ciel and Sebastian arrived at the docks, back in their usual formal attire. Snake, who stayed closer to the shore, immediately stood up to greet them.

"How did your first mission go, Snake?" asked Ciel.

Snake hesitated for a bit "Roitelet was in his house…says Wordsworth."

"Harrier." Ciel called.

Eventually Harrier came over, taking his sweet time.

"We were unable to find much from the tavern…they must have expected us, and set up a trap." Sebastian reported. "What have you two found?"

Harrier reported briefly, "Roitelet says he found the emblem by chance on one of his drunken misadventures. Says he picked it up and wanted to sell it for a profit. But in the end he admitted to bein' a part of it."

"The rest of it…it's like he was possessed…started spouting out madness and trash… I felt so sorry for the man, so I ended his misery."

That certainly wasn't how Snake would describe the situation, but he held his tongue. No one would really believe him.

Ciel sighed. "I expect a full written report to be sent to the post office near my estate in England by the time I return."

And that was how it went. Harrier was dismissed and he slunk back into the city while Ciel, Sebastian and Snake went about a different way.

"Harrier is not the most reliable of people. As you may have noticed." Ciel said with a glance at him. "That's how it is in the underground…people will do as they please without turning a single thought to your plans... unless it provides mutual benefits."

He took out a pocketwatch and studied it a bit more before returning it into his coat. "You two will investigate the house a bit more…I want to return to the inn now and rest. I have some things that need to be done as well."

"It does seem very late for Young Master to be awake. Shall I prepare a bath when we arrive back at the inn?"

Ciel shook his head, eyes shutting more and more with each blink and his movements were getting sloppier. Snake realized how young Ciel was still, and that he couldn't handle as much activity during the day as he or Sebastian could have. They found a carriage just returning from a trip and they all piled in. With a tap on the roof with Ciel's cane, they set off. There was a calm silence in the air, as no one wanted to keep waking the young Earl. However, he was trying to dissuade sleep.

"Tell me how the mission went, Snake." He ordered drowsily.

"I didn't understand French…"

He may as well be honest now, since his partner wasn't that reliable a source.

"We entered in after we picked the lock…says Faust. We looked around for some clues, and suddenly there was a large heart source coming… We ambushed the man and subdued him…"

He figured that he should leave his involvement out until the crime scene. Ciel nodded and stifled a yawn, telling him to continue.

"Harrier was showing him the silver object, while interrogating him…says Bronte. He was about to kill the man before I stopped him. We turned to leave when the man said something…Harrier took out a gun and shot the man…says Faust."

"Did you ask Harrier for a translation?" Sebastian asked.

Snake meekly shook his head. Harrier seemed a bit more intimidating now that he had a gun and proved that he would shoot it…and Snake wasn't the outgoing type.

"What kind…what kind of…gun was it?" Ciel mumbled.

Snake went back into his memory, and asked the snakes if they remembered.

"Silver, white. It was pretty large…"

"Never…heard of it…not…supported…by our company…"

Ciel was definitely sleepy. Children shouldn't be talking about guns and the like! Sebastian shuffled and picked up the sleeping child. He carried him back up to the inn room, telling Snake to keep watch on the carriage. Snake waited in the carriage while the driver went to take a bathroom break. He talked to his snakes a bit before the driver came back and they stayed quiet. Sebastian finally came back out, after an hour, and instructed the driver to drop them off near the residential area of the city, back in the direction to Roitelet's house.

Snake was confused, was all that work for nothing if they were going back to the house anyways? Or did they perhaps miss out on a big clue? Like always, he held his tongue, although his snakes were eager to ask. They were dropped off just a while away from Roitelet's house, and Sebastian made sure to send the driver on his way before they set off.

Within a short amount of time, they arrived back at the house. It was slightly unnerving to return to return to a house where a murder had happened before your eyes, but Snake followed Sebastian in anyways. There was a heavy bitter stench in the air which made Snake (and his snakes) flinch, but it didn't seem to affect Sebastian as much. Sebastian lit the oil lamp nearby and stood over the body of Roitelet.

"I am going to go over his body a bit more. Snake, could you check the other rooms please?"

Snake nodded, taking a nearby candle and lighting it using Sebastian's oil lamp. Sebastian set to examine the body. The blood was still leaking through the large wound in his forehead. He could see where the parts of his skull caved in. Sebastian originally wanted to take the bullet back with him to have it investigated, but he didn't see a proper way to extract it without crushing the entire skull achieving this goal. His whole body was stiff with rigor mortis now, and the smell from his body fluids was horrible to say the least. Sebastian checked the pockets of the man, finding no more than a couple coins, a bottle cap and some cigarettes.

Snake went to scout of the hallway and closet. There was a suspicious door that had a large wooden bar across it. Snake lifted it up and set it leaning on the wall. The door opened and it led to the basement. It certainly was dark down there! The wooden steps creaked under his weight, and he kept his friends close to his body, just it case they crashed. The basement was lit only by Snake's candle. He spied a couple of sconces on the wall and lit them. His snakes found no one else in the room except him. He continued walking along the wall, lighting up a few more sconces. His foot suddenly stepped on something, cracking it. He looked below him to see a wooden figure.

Snake bend down and picked it up. It was a little wooden doll, although its arm was broken off by now. There were signs of wear and abandonment. Why would Roitelet have something like this in his house? He searched a bit more in the darkness. There were a few more items: more wooden dolls, a plush rabbit that was ripped and frayed, pieces of papers with what looked like charcoal drawings. All these seemed like children's items. His hand felt something cold and metal that suddenly clinked. Bringing his lamp closer, he found a metal collar with the chain attached to the wall. He gasped and stepped back.

Snake remembered his days when he, too, was chained to the wall. It was positioned so that it would fit around the neck, as he inferred. Looking at it was a trigger to his memories, but he managed to stuff the panic back. The collar as well, had the look of wear and abandonment. However, it was definitely not for use with a child. The collar was much too big and heavy. Any child could have slipped their head through, and it was positioned much too high. He spied a book on the ground. It was hardcover, and a coat of dust had settled on it like a winter's snowfall. Snake picked it up and brushed the dust, causing him to sneeze. Even with dim lights and an illiteracy for French, he figured out it was a bible. Was Roitelet such a god-fearing man that he barred a room for a single bible?

He opened it. So it wasn't just a bible after all. A section of the book was cut; the centre of it that created a cozy little nook. And inside was a stiletto like object. Snake approached a sconce, put him lamp down and used his free hand to take the object out. It was sharpened and perfect for stabbing, but the other end was jagged and uneven. The handle was simply cloth wrapped around the uneven end. It was more of a shank than a stiletto.

This whole section of basement was mysterious. It looked like Roitelet was not just some rotten old drunkard after all. However, considering the situation, Snake was unsure of whether he should report this to Sebastian or not. He put in the bible in the inside of his vest. His snakes immediately curled around it to help Snake hold it against his body. After putting out the sconces and stashing one of the charcoal pictures into his pocket as well, he escalated the stairs to re-join Sebastian.

Sebastian was waiting for him at the doors, telling him that it was time to leave. Snake nodded and followed him through the house, taking a quick glance at where Roitelet was. But the body was not there anymore. Snake wondered if Sebastian had opened his jaws and swallowed the man whole. Or just buried him.

* * *

The docks were bustling with life. Fishmongers who were hauling in their catches, sailors setting sail and preparing for exploring, passengers coming off and onto ships- Snake even spotted a crab scuttling its way onto a ferry! Snake, holding most of their suitcases and belongings, found it easier to conceal the bible that way. Sebastian and Ciel boarded the ship while Snake handled the porters. It was densely crowded with porters taking the belongings of the passengers and the passengers dropping them with (chucking them at) the porters. Snake patiently waited, even letting a few get in front of him. He was in no rush. He felt uncomfortable about his skin too. How would someone react when they brushed up against his scaly skin?

He dropped the baggage off after 2 hours of waiting and instinctively checked his waist for the bible. His hand touched something, and he pulled it out. It was a note that he didn't recognize.

"_Return the book to me_" was written.

Snake snapped his head around. Who could have put that there? There had been many people bumping against him in the crowd, and how could they have done it so skillfully? He was going to have to be on his toes for the rest of the ship ride.


	5. Snake and Hawk

The servants all greeted Ciel, Sebastian and Snake when they arrived back at the mansion and hurried to help move the baggage. The house was not certain of their Master's return day, so Tanaka, Meirin and Bardroy had to go back to town in order to buy more groceries. It was already late afternoon, and Ciel mentioned that he wanted to have dinner outside. Finnian was taking care of the hedges and grass-_which was in no way mutilated or accidentally set on fire by Pluto_-while Merianna was preparing the utensils and chinaware. Finnian especially had to work on the gardens, which were all the way at the other end of the estate-_in which they were absolutely fine and dandy, not like an infestation of rose-eating insects had gotten to them or anything_... Snake was left to his own devices, but was told by Sebastian to be ready in case there were any errands to do. He took this chance to escape to the library, where he sought out the dictionaries that translated French to English. He brought the bible out and prepared a quill and paper to transcribe whatever clues might have been inside. He noticed that some pages were glued back in, and didn't match the same yellowed papers of the bible. They were still in French.

These were the curious ones. Unlike the rest of the bible, they had no names or verse numbers. The handwriting was different and the pages were newer. The penmanship on it was inked in red, and beautifully crafted. Whoever wrote it must have been a talented writer. It was much more legible in fact. Snake managed to get some words out. 'Couteau' mean a sword, knife…or it could mean clam. 'Ange' obviously meant angel. 'Ciel'…oh hey look, that's where Ciel Phantomhive's name was. Snake made a mental note that his name meant sky or heaven.

As much loyalty as he had to Ciel and Sebastian, he wanted to figure out this mystery for himself. He closed the dictionary, threatening to throw it out the window for being so useless to him. He scrunched up the paper full of misinterpreted words in ink and threw it among the unlit coals of the fireplace. He grumbled and stuffed the bible back against his waist. Who could he ask to read the pages?

Merianna! Or at least…he hoped that she could help. Finnian mentioned that her hometown was in France, so perhaps she was literate in the language. How would he approach her with such a strange artefact though? He opened the bible up again and took out the shank. He rushed to the servants' quarters where he had a room "built". By built, he meant they blasted a part off with a bit of Bard's dynamite and then cleaned it up just for him and his snakes. He stuffed the one charcoal drawing in his drawers, just in case it was a separate clue and hide the shank in his breast pocket. He then went back up and out into the garden, where sure enough, the scullery maid was wiping the mahogany table with a rag and humming a tune to herself.

"Hey…We…found this book in the library…says Dan. But we can't read French…" he started.

She stopped her work and stared at the crusty book in his hands. He held it out for her to take it. She gently took it and squinted at the title with a dazed look on her face.

"Bee…ble? Bib…lee…?"

Snake held a hand to his face.

"Bible…" he muttered.

Was she literate in French or not? And as an angel, shouldn't she be able to recognize such a holy book? Merianna nodded and opened it, automatically noticing the nook where the shank was missing from. Her eyes glanced from the hole in the book to Snake, but he shrugged in reply. She was flipping through the pages, also noting the curious pages.

"We're curious about the part where the pages are new…Dan says. If you could translate it for us, that would be great, says Wordsworth."

Just as she opened her mouth to speak, there was a voice.

"Oi! You better hand that book over, **now**!" a new voice interrupted.

Snake snapped around to see who invaded their conversation. There was a man there with a long grey trench coat, hands in his pockets. On his face was a simple black mask. He had a familiar look around him, with a small growing beard around his chin and stinging, dark eyes. Even if he wore different clothing, Snake suddenly remember that voice.

"Harrier!" He spat. "Stay behind me, Merianna!"

Harrier's face suddenly changed when there was an added witness to the scene. His hand dove to the inside of his coat. Merianna watched the two of them, judging the situation. (processing…0.1%...)

"D-D-Don't do anything, or-or I'll sh-shoot!" he uttered.

"You are not on the bargaining side…says Emily."

Merianna hugged the book close to her, eyes focused on the man. Her gaze didn't seem to leave him, as if she were intent on remembering his identity. Certainly the man wouldn't fight now that he had two witnesses against him.

"Snake," addressed Merianna. "Why is he after this book?"

"I don't know…I can't read it…that's why I asked you to-"

Before he could continue, there was a sharp bang and the grass in front of his shoe started smoking.

"I w-won't miss the next ti-time!" Harrier threatened.

Merianna suddenly shove the book into Snake's chest and stepped in front of him.

"I…don't know who you are…and I don't know why you're after that book…But please leave." She said softly.

Snake could see her shivering slightly, even though she was trying to protect him. Well, it was more or less HIGHLY VISIBLE OSCILLATIONS OF HER BODY. Her goosebumps were picking up too. He realized that perhaps she had higher battle capabilities as an angel, and that he should let her battle a mere human.

"I-I won't…let you take my family away…! I'm not going to l-l-lose anyone! I-If you d-don't scram, I'll-! I'll! I'll have to kill you!" she cried out.

Even though she said this, she was still scared. Even though she threatened to kill him, she was crying a bit and her knees were threatening to buckle underneath her. Still, she showed her resolve by taking out a tarot card. Even if she had to kill someone…and thus become a criminal, she would protect those close to her.

"B-But I…" Harrier started.

"yohohohoho~ I came here to look for Sebby-chan…and all I get are a bunch of kids fighting all over the lawn…"

The three of them turned their heads to the rooftops, where a long-haired man was sitting, watching them. He had a grin spread across his face that made the entire scene uncomfortable. He launched himself off the roof, to the amazement of the observers and landed on his feet, in front of Harrier.

"Better to do as he says, girly. That bible contains something that you shouldn't handle." He advised, tutting and wagging his finger.

"Y-You!" Merianna gasped.

Snake tucked the bible underneath his vest, asking on one of his friends to hide in the nook and jump out in case any other person were to open the bible. He wondered if the strange new enemy was talking about the shank hidden in the bible. This _thing _she couldn't handle. Who even was this weird man who suddenly decided to join in?

"Before I got my scythe upgraded to the marvellous chainsaw it is today, I had to stick with the rookie ones…horrible unfashionable things…But I 'accidentally' dropped it somewhere in the living realm. Whoever found it stuck it in _that_ _book_ and I intend to retrieve it before you stupid mortals do anything stupid with it. It can cut through anything you know!"

No one really had any interest in his story until he mentioned that it could cut through anything.

"S-So…it's like a magical weapon…able to cut through anything…" Merianna mumbled. (c'mon Merianna! No time to be fantasizing about slaying dragons and become king of any lots!)

Grell whipped out his chainsaw. "Except, well…another death scythe!"

He launched an attack, aiming it towards Snake. The chainsaw let out a horrible growl that Snake had never seen before. How would he even try to stop that thing? The noise and heat emanating from it alone was scaring some of the snakes underneath his clothing.

"_Risado sirscunus_!...uhh..!"

Merianna hastily drew out another card when things really_ really_ got down to business.

"_An_!"

Without the full power of her wings, there were only two morningstars that appeared. Grell easily cut them in half and cackled maniacally when she shot them at him. Merianna found her other powers useless before a god-like weapon and could only try to defend herself when he raised his chainsaw to cut her down.

Then she heard a crack in the air. There was a splash of blood that got onto her clothing and the body of the Death Reaper fell as he clenched the side of his chest. The chainsaw fell from his hands and onto the grass. Snake suddenly kicked it away from the Reaper. Merianna was in shock after witnessing such a point-blank shooting.

"D-Damn…that was…a lucky shot…!" Grell spat, turning to the man behind him.

Harrier had drawn out his gun and shot him, breathing heavily. The red Death Reaper stumbled and clamped his hands around Merianna's throat, lifting her off her feet with one hand. Even with a bullet wound close to the heart, he was still standing, and even threatening a girl. Grell brought his face close to her as he was choking the air out of her.

"You'll be dearly sorry for your ignorance, you stupid girl! Angels don't always go to heaven when they die, you know!"

He threw her and she slammed against the wall of the house. There were audible cracks of bone as well as a piercing scream of pain. Merianna's body fell onto the grass, where it started bleeding heavily. There were blood marks and even a small dent on the wall as well from where the impact happened.

"You stupid humans always are hanging around things that aren't good for you! You know what? Take the bloody trash death scythe! When a serial killing is happening, I won't be the one on duty!"

And within that chaos, the red Death Reaper disappeared, his chainsaw along with him. Merianna was lying on her stomach, hardly able to move from the injuries. Even worse, she was now on Harrier's side of the field.

"M-Merianna!" Snake yelled.

"G-Give me the book." Harrier demanded. "You absolutely cannot have it!"

Snake grimaced. This was a bad situation. Merianna was bleeding and was struggling to do something. She had probably realized her situation too, but was trying hard to keep quiet and not get in their way. He could still hear muffled squeaks and cries out of her.

"What is inside this…bible? I can destroy it right now if you don't tell me what is written…you know, don't you? What's inside." Snake replied.

Harrier laughed, a sting of satire in it. "Of course I knows what's in it! That's exactly why I cans't let you have it! Go ahead and destroy it, it'll make my job all the easier!"

He turned back to Merianna and fished out her pack of tarot cards. She protested weakly, but all she could do was moved her right arm a bit before the pain forced a cry out of her. Harrier let the cards fall all around her limp body, like a cruel rain of artificial pathetic fallacy.

"Save yourself." He said. "You've got some sort of healing card, right?"

Merianna was slowly moving her hand around the cards, looking for the proper ones. She closing her eyes and opened her four wings to get the cards from her back to fall onto the grass beside her. Even her wings were bleeding and horribly misshapen. Harrier took no interest in the holy bleeding being beside him, focusing on aiming the gun at Snake's head.

"Hand it over, and I won't shoot."

Snake twitched, and whispered to his snake friend inside to get ready to jump out and attack Harrier. _That's right…_he encouraged…_snakes always get their revenge back on hawks_. Even though this particular snake was non-venomous, he was sure that he could take the opportunity to knock him out with a surprise punch to the face.

Snake took the bible out and started approaching Harrier with one hand up in the air and the other offering the book out. Merianna, still on the other side, finally rested a hand on one of her cards. When she called out the card, her body started to glow a silvery blue aura. Snake was distracted for a while by the show, but turned his attention back to Harrier. Harrier faltered slightly from some unknown force, but he recovered quickly. The moment Harrier snatched the book in his hands, Snake dove forward and unleashed an uppercut to his chin. The snakes that curled around his body also shot out from underneath his clothing and quickly helped yank the gun out of his hand. They fell onto the ground and slithered off to hide in the bushes.

Harrier swore and rolled off to another side, wiping the blood from his mouth. He opened the bible away from himself, and hastily slammed it onto the grass. The snake inside shot out…but since it wasn't pointed towards Harrier, it launched harmlessly on the grass and slithered away.

"The bible…is a story about a great being…called God…" whispered Merianna, struggling to pull herself up.

Harrier took out a small paper bag from his pocket and tore it open, spreading the black dust inside all over the book. It was gunpowder, or at least something flammable. Snake didn't know what to do…they lost. They lost the bible, and there was no way to get it back now.

"Satan is a fallen angel…" Merianna continued, hand resting on _The Moon_ card. "…who tried to rebel against God."

Harrier stood up, stepped a few paces back from the bible and pointed his gun at the bible, ready to fire at the gunpowder.

"B-But that's not all…Is it, **Jake**?!"

Harrier flinched when he heard the name. His finger eased off the trigger. Snake's attention was also drawn towards Merianna. Where was this coming from? None of her body was at all healing, yet the silvery-blue aura surrounded her. She was crying too…such a pitiful state.

"Hey…Jake…that's what my mother wrote…those pages…are my mother's writing…"

"Merianna…" Harrier mumbled. "Don't…do this…"

Snake could see that he was loosening his grip on the gun. Were those tears falling down his face too?

"You…You know something…about my father too…" she added.

"S-Stop this…It ain't good for you…"

"You th-thought…I was going to…reach for the card…that could heal me…But…But I said…that I didn't…want t-to lose anyone anymore…So I…So I-I…took the c-c-card…that lets me visit your thoughts…Jake…you_ are_ Jake…aren't you? D-Don't…burn the book…I want to…I want to…read what my mother has written for me…"

Her voice sounded so pitiful, it drove him to tears. She was begging him not to burn the book, and he was begging her to stay quiet and let him finish the job. He realized that the more time she had, the more she was going to dig into his brain, the sleepier he became, the more she would find out about the truth, and the less time she had to save herself.

He jumped back from the book and fired a shot at it. With a crack and a boom, there was a flaming book in the grass. He watched it burn away before he suddenly pointed his gun back at Snake.

"The knife, you bastard! Hand it o'er!" He growled.

"Jake, don't do this…"

Snake analyzed the situation. Merianna was dying because she was prying into his thoughts…Once Harrier had the knife; he would most likely escape… Snake had the knife. In the end, he wanted as little causalities as possible…it was a losing situation to their side from the start. Snake regretfully took the shank from his breast pocket and tossed it at Harrier. It landed straight into the grass, where he picked it. There was nothing left for him to do but to escape. He muttered an 'I'm sorry' before setting off in a run.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Merianna cried out. "Why, Jake?! Where are you going?!"

But that hawk had already flown away.

* * *

Snake was amazed at how the tarot card could heal Merianna up. Yet it took its time to clean her wounds and seemed to warm up the entire room in doing so. The servants were now aware of what was going on, although Merianna didn't have the focus or strength to answer everything in detail. The servants all demanded to know who the culprit was, and they suddenly all quieted down when Merianna said that it was 'Cuffs, the one who said he was gone to Africa'. Snake felt out of the loop, yet still wanted to know more.

After the whole fight, the bible was reduced to nothing but horribly blackened bits of paper. The bible was in such a condition that a good blast of wind could carry off the pieces…in which it did. Snake asked if she could perhaps restore the ashes to bible form. However, her magic could not heal beings other than herself. Right after this explanation, she fell asleep. Her body wasn't healed yet, but she had already exhausted herself patching up every broken bone.

It would make sense too, Snake reasoned. As birds have hollowed bones to allow them easier flight, an angel would have less dense bones to help them fly as well. Snake guess that the only reason Merianna had trouble doing it was the extra pair on her. Meirin helped hoist Merianna up onto her back and carried her to her room. Bardroy, Finnian and Snake had to return to their normal duties. Bard told Snake that he should report the incident to Ciel and Sebastian straight away. Snake gulped, and went upstairs to report it. How would he explain this? And with limited knowledge on Harrier…Jake…Harrier? ...he was starting to get nervous.

Snake knew that Ciel would be studying in the study room at this time of day. He knocked before hearing a 'come in' issued to him. He opened the door slowly, and he was sweating like a guilty pig. Sebastian had his glasses on and a book in his hands, probably reading out a lesson to him. Ciel didn't stop writing when Snake entered, but gave him a nod to start speaking.

"There…a…w-was an incident out there…says Dan. Mr…Harrier attacked us…along with a strange red man. Merianna was hurt, and she's resting now."

Ahh…he was no good at this at all. He could feel his internal temperature spike up. There was a slight twitch in Sebastian's face when he mentioned a 'strange red man'.

"As long as everyone else took care of it, that's fine." Ciel replied. "What did you do with Harrier?"

"Jake Harrier…escaped…sir…"

Ciel stopped writing. "_Jake_…Harrier?"

"E-Escaped…says Faust…It…it won't happen again…" Snake stammered.

Oh, he was going to get it now…having to report that their assailant escaped…! Ciel didn't even seem to be curious about the strange red man. Ciel's eyes were hard and seemed to stare into Snake's soul. It was akin to having a lance pointed at his throat.

"Is that what he called himself?" Ciel asked, his full attention on Snake now.

"I-It's what Merianna called him," Snake answered, "He told us that he was simply 'Harrier'...says Dan."

Ciel put his pen down and brushed his hair with a hand.

"This is going down a troublesome path…" he mumbled. "Do you know why Harrier came back here?"

Snake stayed silent a moment. "He…wanted to burn a bible…says Wilde. Apparently, it had some information that was important, and a knife…He succeeded…says Oscar."

"Information, right?" Ciel repeated.

He stood up and snapped his fingers.

"Snake, tell the others to hold off dinner until I return."

Sebastian closed the book and returned his glasses back into his breast pocket.

"Sebastian, we're going out. Do you think you've improved your waterboarding skills?"

* * *

Despite the disappointment in the servants' eyes when Snake announced the news, they still had a fine time over dinner. Merianna was still resting in her bedroom, but Meirin assured them that she would send the meal soon. The servants were friendly with Snake, telling them a bit about themselves. They didn't exactly go into specifics, and Snake was too shy to ask anyways. Even though Bardroy was initially suspicious of Snake, he soon dropped his defences and even gave him a good noogie on the head.

"Good…morninggg, everyone." Merianna mumbled, shuffling into the kitchen.

She was still in her nightgown, the ones that had an open back, and her long dishevelled hair certainly stood out. The rest of them looked awkwardly at each other, already having finished their own meals.

"Ah, Meri! Is it okay for you to be up now?" Finny fretted. "How are you feeling?"

"A little bit hungry…"she admitted, taking a seat at the table. "I can eat by myself…I'll wash the dishes, so everyone can go and relax."

"I'll leave it in your care then, Snowy. Sebastian asked me to fix up a fireplace in the upper floor."

He stood up and left, telling everyone that they shouldn't blow up much since Sebastian had left him in charge. Meirin, Finny and Snake talked amongst themselves while keeping Merianna company as she ate. Afterwards, the two boys fetched and heated the water while the two girls washed the dishes and pots. Finny wasn't allowed to wash the dishes and cooking ware, Meirin explained, because of his knack of breaking them at a touch. Snake didn't feel comfortable in water either.

When they finished, Finny suggested they retreat to the parlour and play some board games. The servants agreed and all clambered to get first dibs on the top hat piece. The game was simple enough that Merianna and Snake got the hang of it quickly. There were enough people that Meirin suggested that the loser play a penalty game. Everyone played valiantly, but Finny's last minute special attack meant that Snake was in last place. The rest of the group had the aura of mischievous pranking in store.

Meirin suggested first: "Heehee~ we should make Snake take off his shirt!"

"N-No! Nothing like that!" protested Merianna.

"What if he does all our chores tomorrow?" Finny suggested.

The all looked at him.

"Too cruel." They said in unison.

"What if he puts a snake in Bard's bed?"

Merianna started laughing at the idea, and so did the rest of the servants. Snake didn't like the idea of losing a game, but he was having fun. The rest of them agreed on the idea, and so he had the penalty game start. Meirin and Finnian both volunteered to make as much trouble as they could around the house in order for Snake to successfully implement his trap. Merianna was tasked with seeing out the game, just so that Snake didn't cheat.

* * *

Merianna snickered when they left the room, closing the door behind her. For good measure, Snake also told his friends to hide in the pillow, drawers and to slip into his shoes once he had taken them off. Suddenly, there was an explosion that shook the house, followed by the yelling of "FINNIANNNNN!". Merianna felt a little bad for planning to scare their friend, but they were all teenagers turning adults and it was good to lighten up the mood at this time. She was feeling much better now. Her friends certainly knew how to take her mind off heavier things.

"Merianna…who is Jake Harrier?" came an innocent question. "…s-said uh…Faust."

They entered Merianna's room, which was right across from Bardroy's, where they could watch the action unfold. Merianna pretended that she didn't hear, closing the door while leaving a crack open and peering through it. Nevertheless, Snake repeated him question.

"He and I…used to be in a sort of…"

The words were hard to say. She tried to focus on listening for any sounds coming while talking. She figured that it wouldn't affect her as much.

"Relationship…?"

"Thief gang." She finished. "He was my only friend."

"I…worked with him…when we went to Hainesville. He…does seem rough around the edges…says Oscar."

Merianna shot a look at him.

"Snake…we should talk about this later…"

She finished her sentence with a soft smile. He understood and put his ear against the wall.

"They're coming. Both Finnian and Bardroy…says Wilde."

Finny and Bard trampled down the stairs. The former stifled a yawn and bid good night to the latter. Bardroy thanked him for his hard work and entered his bedroom. Finnian entered his room, but didn't close the door, peeking through the threshold and winking at Merianna's door. Meirin was seen tiptoeing over, waiting eagerly along the wall. The servants all waited, although Finny had the hardest time keeping his giggles in.

"AAAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Bardroy flew out of the room, running into the wall with snakes small and large hanging from his shoulders and hugging him affectionately. The servants burst out laughing when he bumped into the table and chairs in the kitchen, still screaming and panicking. He ran into another wall when a snake was covering his eyes, and he dropped down unconscious.

"Oops." Snake mumbled. "…says Dan."

* * *

Merianna and Snake were sitting in the library, where the fire flickered warmly and the moon was shining in the cloudless night sky. The room was quiet, but it was a calming atmosphere instead of an awkward one. Merianna, who had already slept throughout the day, didn't feel the need to sleep extra. Snake…didn't need much sleep anyways. He figured that he should start the exchange of information.

"Harrier…was our correspondent in Hainesville…He seemed familiar with the town, says Bronte. He says he has been there for more than two years."

"Harrier…that is not his real name, it's Jake Hawkins…and if that is Jake…" mumbled Merianna. "He told me two years ago that he set off to Africa."

"He was studying the town, watching for Rouge-Gorge activity…and he led us to the main suspect. Har-Hawkins…and I broke into the house. Roitelet's the name. Says Wordsworth."

Somehow, the apathetic and faraway look on Merianna's face was worrying him. He continued.

"Uh…we tried to interrogate him. I didn't understand French, but it didn't look like much of an interrogation."

Merianna nodded, prompting him to continue and not let the story end on a cliff-hanger.

"He…He shot Roitelet…with that silver gun."

He took a pause to glance at her. She had a tight grip on her nightgown, and her head was bend down, but she softly asked him to keep going.

"I should have stopped him…he looked so angry. We…We met Ciel and Sebastian by the docks. Harri-errrr…Hawkins gave them a vague description of what happened…Ciel wasn't happy with it so he ordered Sebastian and me to search the place again."

"Roitelet…" mumbled Merianna.

She was hugging her knees now. Snake felt even worse now seeing her condition.

"Should I…continue?"

She nodded.

"Sebastian and I did return. He examined the body while we checked the other rooms…says Faust. There was the basement, where there were…children's objects, and a collar chained to the wall meant for an adult. That's where I found the bible. Uh…what connections would…Hawkins…have to that?"

Now was Merianna's turn to speak. She returned her feet to the ground and clasped her hands in her lap, taking a moment to collect her thoughts.

"I…don't know. Those things couldn't have been his. He was born in London, and he doesn't remember his parents much before living on the streets. A bee-ble…"

"Bi-_bul_" Snake corrected, still surprised at how an angel wasn't aware of it.

He suddenly hatched an idea.

"You used one of your cards to read into Hawkins' mind earlier, could you do that with mine? I witnessed the conversation between him and Roitelet!"

She shook her head.

"Master Ciel used to ask me to read the conversation between an immigrant and an officer…but I couldn't understand it. I don't think it would work at all…"


	6. Birds and Bees

**Trigger warnings are now in effect for this chapter forth. Mentions of abuse, anorexia, etc. **

It had been four days since the attack by Jake, and it passed over the heads of everyone in the house. No one seemed to mention it, or bring it up. Even Ciel was surprised at how quiet Merianna had been about this. The only time it had even been hinted at was when Finnian informed Sebastian that the burnt patch of grass had to be cut out and replaced. Ciel was slightly disappointed that a confrontation didn't happen like he anticipated, but supposed it was a blessing in disguise. Now he could focus on his own work.

Ciel had made sure to send a written report about his mission in France to the Queen, although he was worried that failure was too blatant in his writing. He tried to make it sound as subtle as possible. Then, the letter finished up with assurance that the next time they found a trail to the Rouge-Gorges, they would be sure to capture the rogue guild. He had Tanaka run it to the royal post office as soon as he was available. Such a hard and loyal worker, he was.

Now then, he had to focus on the troubles within his own little country. Ciel picked up the spoon and tested the consistency of the pudding Sebastian had made for him. He then called Sebastian over, ordering him to fetch Merianna. While he waited for his servants to be summoned, he swirled his fork around the pudding, consuming it leisurely. Merianna arrived, obviously just coming from a chore with her sleeves rolled up and her white hair stringing and fraying from her braid. Despite her state, she still addressed him and curtseyed.

"I have a preposition for you, Merianna. I say 'preposition' and not 'order' because I am allowing you the choice of accepting it or rejecting it. Now listen…" Ciel stated.

* * *

There were 1, 250 bricks that made up the cell in total. Each was the same slate grey with specks of copper-like minerals, as strong and tightly bound as a family of elephants. There were 26 bars in the cell, not including the door. Half of them were corroded with rust and he would hate to ever touch them. The door took up approximately one-third the whole wall section and he would pick the lock if he had any trace of wire or _something_…and if his arms weren't bound behind his back. He heard stories of famous thieves who broke out of prisons by punching out their own teeth and using it to break open the lock. He doubted that he was that heroic though. There was absolutely nothing at all interesting about this little prison he was in.

How was it that he was captured so easily? He was sure that he made no sound when he crept back into his old hideout. How did that Phantomhive butler find him so quickly? He suspected that Merianna told him of the location…yet at the same time he couldn't. The number one rule of having a hideout to belong to was that 'ya cans't peach on us!' no matter what the circumstances. Ahh…those were the good times. He was reminiscing about his more swift and action-packed days when he heard the trap door open and someone was stepping down.

Jake closed his eyes to concentrate on the footsteps. They weren't heavy like that butler's were, and they seemed uneven and unsure of the territory. Could it be that he was found? Would he be free now? His heart leaped when he recognized the white hair on her head.

"Jake…?"

"Ahaha! It's you!" he yelped gleefully.

And then he remembered the state he was in. And then he remembered what he did to her mother's book. And then he remembered how sad she was over it. And then he remembered who she was working for…

"…What are you doing here?" he asked, lowering his tone.

She looked around the prison and he shook his head. Of course the other prisons were empty. He wasn't sure where he was exactly, but he knew it was abandoned. No one answered his calls for help, and there sure wasn't anyone else to talk to! She bent down on her knees and held her skirt close to her legs, looking around the cell. It wasn't that she was ignoring him, obviously. She was simply curious of the place he was put in.

She spoke, "I want to ask you some questions."

_Shit…_

Of course she would have a lot of questions. Jake burned the bible that belonged to her mother, sealing whatever information inside; information that he knew. Still, he sensed that the butler couldn't have gone through all that just to bring him to her. Perhaps she came on her own accord, maybe even to help him escape.

"…Nooooooo…" he said, drawing out the sound to seem more playful.

She puffed her cheek again, like she always did. The irony of the situation almost made him laugh out. She would make a terrible interrogator. She seemed to be thinking up the words to say. He grinned and bore a smile. **That** would make her sympathetic towards him, such a kind-hearted soul. It made her draw back a little, but she still held her miffed face.

"I could use this card," she said, drawing it out to show him. "It can enter into your thoughts and memories. Like the moon that shines on what we cannot see in darkness."

The smile immediately vanished from his face. That must have been what she had used beforehand on the estate lawn. He never thought that he would have to see it again, and in this case, in this dangerous situation. He finally saw why that Phantomhive brat had sent her here. She'd be the perfect interrogator without even knowing it. In that case, why didn't she just ask the other creepy scaly man next to her?

"H-Hah! But there's ways around it, ain't there? What if I just don't let yous read my mind? If I know what's going on, I can just will it away, can't I?"

He was taking a chance at this last-minute theory, further trying to prove his knowledge by the confident tone in his voice. The creepy man surely couldn't be on such good terms with her. He just couldn't be. And on that hunch, he could probably prevent her from using her card on him. She furrowed her brows and leaned her head on her hand, staring at the ground. The secret would be safe with him!

"It won't hurt at all, Jake. I promise."

He knew it didn't hurt. In fact, her coaxing made it seem like an owner trying to train their dog.

"I am going to let you out of this cell afterwards." She added. "And I won't enter into anything else except what happened in Hainesville."

He kept his tongue still. Ain't nobody got the time to be honest now. Now that Merianna had mentioned escaping the cell, he looked around her for any tool she might have with her – the key to the door, of course.

"Why won't you tell me, Jake?" she said in a low tone.

The honesty in her voice was what made him falter. It could have been like a child asking why they couldn't bring that stray, mangy, old dog home. But instead it was like a child asking why that beloved stray, mangy, old dog would never wake up again.

"You told me you were going to Africa, but instead you're here, right now, in this cell."

_No, Merianna, don't do this…_

"You told me that you didn't want me to hurt anyone anymore…but you shot a Frenchman right in the head…"

Jake supposed that heavenly justice was like this.

"You said that you would see me again…the next morning…but you didn't even…you didn't even come … I received this letter instead."

The worst part of Hell surely couldn't be a pit of sinners burning in an eternal inferno – it was seeing the angels of heaven weep for their souls and sins. Jake held up a strong front, but inside his heart was breaking. Suddenly, Merianna didn't seem like a heavenly pillar of holy light in the form of an angel anymore, she was just like any other being that had their feelings hurt. Any angel could have brushed it off and continued worshiping their god while condemning this insolent mortal to live in hell. But Merianna couldn't brush it off so lightly, no matter how many wings she had. She couldn't worship whatever god that existed because she didn't even know what or who God was. And if anything, she tried to save him countless times from ending up rotting in a jail cell.

Oh the irony…

But he still couldn't tell her. Not this. Not this story. This wasn't another one of _Jake's Infamous Misadventures in Lying and Deceit_. This one had Merianna in it, and this one was worse. Every man has a secret to hide, and he was intent on taking this with him to the grave.

"Why don't you tell me these things…?" she whispered. "Why do you keep lying to me?"

"No, Merianna…I cans't tell you this…" he insisted.

Jake felt how thick and heavy the atmosphere was getting. He could see the words appearing from her lips like lead bubbles. Each word was encased in its own little bubble-cage, each forcing him to want to hide deeper and further in that little prison cell with 1, 250 stone bricks and 26 rusty bars.

"Do you hate me?"

"_No_!" he cried out.

But he wasn't sure how much she would believe him this time. By the way she cringed and dug her hands into her clothes, it was the worst assumption. The way she was crying without making a single noise worried him even more. But how could he ever prove his faith without tearing everything apart? Dammit…he was only human after all!

"Is _he _making you do this?" argued Jake, "It's that noble snotty kid who's makin' you come down 'ere and makin' you suffer? It's 'is fault, ain't it?!"

"Jake!" she hissed, "Ciel is the one who gave me this opportunity to speak to you!"

He felt pretty envious of this brat who could give orders to people so easily. He shut his mouth and turned his head away, not wanting her to see how full of rage he was. Not only was he a liar now, but he was full of jealousy. How many more sins to go until he was the worst of the worst? The room remained silent while they both judged themselves and their positions.

"Do you…want to escape?"

He said this. Jake said this. Jake in the prison cell with no way out and his arms bound behind his back said this. Yet he was asking the person on the other side of the cell. The good side of the cell bars. She tiled her head with the greatest look of 'what?!' etched on her expression. Not surprising. He almost wanted to kick himself for asking such a stupid thing.

"Do yous e'er want to run away from this place? Go somewhere nice and warm…rain every Tuesday and picnics outside every other? ….Why are we doing this, Merianna? Why are we getting chained around some place and never leaving? Whether it's poverty on the streets or servants to some fossy noble. Don't you ever wanna be able to spread your wings out and feel the breeze with no'un ever saying nothin' more?"

He looked at her with the utmost pleading in his eyes. But her eyes were veiled behind her hair and _The Moon _card was held up between her fingers. Something must have gone wrong.

"Risado sirscunus…_Dris-Vit_"

* * *

_In which the Phantomhive child sent him all the way to France to investigate the gang of thieves that supposedly made their nest there. It takes one to know one, he said. Jake was there only for revenge. Revenge for the murder of his entire thief group… most of them young boys and children whom he had grown fond of. Revenge for taking away the people close to him and revenge for making his life such a living hell. _

_He didn't really have a choice anyways. It was either a straight trip to jail for him (and to the nooses), or to France. Ciel Phantomhive sure was bent on keeping Jake from being a threat to him and his household. The most painful thing was saying goodbye. After confessing a hapless love and making sure his pet dog Stikes had found a wonderful new owner (no fleas, I swear!), he was given a new jacket, a new identity and a ship right straight to Hainesville. He got to keep his traditional handcuffs, which pleased him greatly. _

_He generally found life there slow and monotonous. It was too easy to pick from people who stuffed their daily pay into their pockets and who left home without bothering to close up the shed or boathouse. Still, he had to come up with some information for the Phantomhive kid. He just hoped that he would be treating Merianna well. His heart ached every time __**that**__ one ship set off between his home land and this world, knowing that she must have felt the same._

"_She wouldst be happiest knowin' I goned to Afurika…she's always wanted to go there." He said when Ciel was drafting his good-bye and apology letter._

* * *

_Jake was used to having handcuffs around his wrists to act as knucklers. The silver circled-badge thing was much too heavy and his wrists hurt from the experience of them. He had no experience with interrogations, but he was sure that Roitelet was associated with that damned robbing group. He watched the creepy scaly man throw the bottle of anti-snake venom to Roitelet._

No, Merianna…

_The man was lying there, clenching what had been part of his nose and a horrendous black eye._

You don't need…to see this…

_Hirond Roitelet was the worst of the bunch._

Stop this…

_The creepy man with the snakes stopped him from beating the man to death when he was repeating his daughter's name over and over. Surely creepy man didn't understand French or he would have a more passionate response than complete apathy or ignorance. He didn't even recognize the name._

The film kept reeling and going on. He was just the light that projected the pictures. He knew that Merianna was watching, right now, how he beat the man and kept asking him to repeat what he said. It was like watching a lone audience member sit in reflection whilst watching a play of your own misconduct. What sort of criticism would he receive? He could only wait for it to be over soon.

_Disgusting…_

_I would've done the same to my daughter, Roitelet bragged. He would shove it into the rest of the Rouge-Gorges' faces that he did it again, and they would all feel inferior to him. He was the luckiest man alive to have snagged such a catch. _

"_I could've chained the whelp up in the basement and she would've never known what sunlight was." _

_That was what forced Jake to take out the silver gun from the inside of his coat. He couldn't have pulled the trigger any faster. Every writhing feeling of wrath and rage was right behind that bullet, which ended up digging and shredding through his brain. _

Jake felt the dizzying spell leave his memories. When it was finally over, Jake wanted to take Merianna into his arms and feel her still breathing. The best he could do was his head leaning against hers through the bars. He knew what she was going to ask. He knew that she was just too innocent to understand. He knew that she wanted to know. He was the one crying now, trying to hold the guilt of knowing and the guilt of having to answer the question she was going to ask.

In his mind, he was begging her not to ask.

"What is…rape…? What did that man do to my mother, Jake? What was he going to do to me?"

"Open this d-door, Meriah-Meri-a-Merianna…!" He begged. "Let me out!"

He felt the tears and snot run down his face, a pitiful sight. He saw the unsure look on her face before she brought out the rusty key. She must have been completely lost about the situation, and he knew that if he didn't answer her, someone else would. He just feared that she may not take it as gently. Or worse, if someone decided to show her what it meant.

"I…I'm going to untie you now…D-Don't…Don't run away."

She sounded scared now. It must have been his sudden outburst of emotion. He kept it all in, waiting while he heard the click of a hidden blade and ropes being cut. He could hardly wait, stretching and snapping the last few pieces away from him and pulling Merianna in.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry!"

Jake wasn't sure exactly what he was apologizing for. Whether it was all the lies he told, the situation she wasn't aware of, or being the one to take her father's life. He felt a pang of regret. If only he had stayed with her. His mistake of many years ago when he chose to stick to the life of an eternal pickpocket, lock picker and thief ended up causing the most pain and strife. He was half-expecting her to push him away or stab him right through with that knife, but she merely returned the hug. He couldn't even remember the last time she did that. The honest forgiveness she felt found its way to the sudden strength in her arms, and he felt it too.

But soon her arms got tired and she brought them close to her stomach, leaning into him.

"Jake…you're holding me too tightly…" she whimpered. "I want to know what that word means."

He let go and realized that it was much harder in reality to tell her what it meant. Normally, children would learn about human biology when they start noticing changes about themselves, but here was this sheltered girl who isn't even human. He could feel the heat and embarrassment rush to his face.

* * *

"Why is that a bad thing?" Merianna asked once again. "People need babies to take care of and make them grow up."

"No, Merianna. Your mama didn't _want _that. That is why it was such a terrible thing."

He really couldn't take this anymore. If only someone older, of her race, or even the same _gender_ would take his place.

"Why didn't she want that? She told me that she loved me…and you too! Why wouldn't she want me?"

Oh no, she was taking it the wrong way.

"No! It's not like that! That's a different thing entirely! She didn't want _him_! Your mother didn't _**love**_ Roitelet!"

Merianna opened her mouth to counter, but she leaned back and shut it again.

"Then why didn't she just say no?" she continued.

Jake realized that the reason she couldn't comprehend the severity of the crime was because she as an angel…or part of one…didn't understand love. Not only that, but she was much too idealist of the world. He would have to make her understand by applying it to her knowledge. Jake suddenly grabbed Merianna's shoulder and twisted it so that it swung around her neck, picked up the blade and he went around her and captured her in a lock. He pressed the point of the knife into her stomach.

"Do you want to die, Merianna?"

"No! No! Jake, what are you doing?" she screamed.

"Do you want to die?!" he repeated.

Her face was contorted to pain, fear and hurt. Merianna tried to wrestle away from him. She shook her head as much as she could before he dropped the knife and let her go. That was what he wanted to happen. She immediately shuffled back away from him and looked at him reproachfully.

"That…is what it was like…for your mother." He explained.

Her eyes widened in surprise and disbelief. She put a hand over where the dagger was pointing at and the other hand at her throat. He hoped that he didn't hurt her too much. Angels understood death, theirs and any other, and he supposed that was how it got the point across. There was absolute fear in her eyes.

"And he didn't stop at that point either. And this was constant…every day of her life."

"A-And he-he he…he did th-th-this…because of l-love?" she squeaked.

She was absolutely traumatized by it now. Jake hated seeing her so scared, and then he realized that she was staring right at him. He remembered the one promise that he did manage to keep in his heart, all those years.

"N-No, Merianna! I-It's not like that! That's the wrong love…!" he stuttered.

How would he explain it now? He made vague hand motions while he racked his brain for words. His mouth moved, but his vocal cords refused to utter a sound. The fact that he _did _hold her at knifepoint earlier didn't help his situation.

"It's not the same kind!" he finished.

"Well…w-wh-what kind is it?"

"…The good kind…" he sighed, for lack of a better word.

"Why did you kill him? Was that…love too?"

There was no more meaning in lying. "I was just…really angry. And I gots carried away."

"I thought I had a nice father. Maybe it's good that he did miss the boat."

"I think your mother…arranged for that to happen…maybe gave 'em the wrong time and made away with you. She didn't like hims, to what I know."

Merianna had no recollection of her father's face. When she was younger, her mother would reply that her father was back in France. As she got older and asked deeper questions, her mother would snap and say that Merianna had no father at all. She stopped asking. It must have been painful for her mother too.

"So wha…what does th-this mean…about me?" she mumbled. "I'm…scared now…"

There was a chill in the air. Merianna huddled and hugged her knees close to her, trying to organize all this new information and her thoughts.

"Nothin' changes about you, Merianna. Well…we know now you ain't all angel. Just half, I guess?"

"Is he going to come after me too?"

Jake took a deep breath. "No, he ain't. No…I killed him. Don't you worry."

"Was he really part of the Rouge-Gorges?"

"…Yes…I don't know why… My job is to find out, but I have a bad feeling about it. I'll keep you safe, Merianna…but please watch out for yourself too…! I don't know if there's a connection between you and the Rouges-Gorges yet."

They stayed in silence, but Jake could see that Merianna was calming down now. Her clenched fists were loosening and her face grew softer.

"There's a carriage outside for us." She finally spoke.

* * *

"Where are you staying?" Merianna asked.

Jake was still staring outside the window, hands bracing himself in the carriage. It reminded her of her first time in the carriage. She couldn't help but smirk at how the normally cool Jake was so unsure of this moving contraption, trying to hide his embarrassed face by facing the window.

"I'm staying at our old hideout. No one's usin' it much. By the way…you didn't peach didya?"

She shook her head when he turned to her. Rule number one of their group was not to rat out on where the hideout was. Rule number two was to not rat out on each other.

"Damn, that butler must be a hell of a hound to sniff it out..."

"A hellhound." Merianna added, crossing her arms in front of her.

Jake noticed the space between them. Merianna composed herself to the extreme right of the carriage, looking out the window when they weren't speaking. The carriage space was small, and yet there was such a distance between them.

* * *

"Shouldn't she be back by now?" Ciel demanded. "I hope he hasn't done anything rash."

Sebastian was preparing the bath while Ciel waited for the water to be heated. He swished his hand in the water to check the temperature, revealing the dark purple mark.

Sebastian smirked. "Was this part of your plan too, Young Master?"

"Sebastian, what are you talking about?"

"If Hawkins really had killed Hirond, I doubt that his soul is that much of a delicacy anymore. Angels and demons will always feel an attraction towards the most fragrant and sought-after tastes, even if that girl isn't aware of that herself."

He poured in the soap and the room was filled with a soft perfume.

"What is this? The smell is too sweet, Sebastian."

"Ah, Lady Elizabeth insisted that you try bathing in the fragrance. It will help you relax. It seems to be made from the oil of gardenia flowers. Quite a refined smell."

Ciel stepped into the bath tub and let himself soak in the scent. Although it was making his nose wrinkle, he withstood it. As he got more accustomed to it, he relaxed more. He wondered if all flowers smelled like this.

"Even disregarding supernatural characteristics, any human would feel strange around the murderer of their parent."

"Sebastian."

Ciel voice was heated and doused in poison. It was the tone for _Shut up, Sebastian_. Ciel slid into the hot water and mumbled to himself. In water, there was no one to hear him. The bubbles that formed would pop in an instant and that was it. He wished that the guilt he felt could be like that as well.

"I didn't mean for that to happen…"

* * *

**A/N: i don't write smut. **


	7. Flowers and Sky

There was a light rain outside, not enough to hide the sun but just enough that Meirin and Finny had to scuttle to fetch the laundry out to dry and push Pluto inside. Ciel and Sebastian were once off to the town again, telling the servants to properly take care of things in their absence. They had things to prepare and things to buy, they said. The servants bid them a good trip and returned to their respective chores. Hopefully, the roads wouldn't be too slippery. Just half an hour after they left and there was a knock at the door. Merianna, who was sweeping the front hall as usual, was the first to open it. She wondered if Ciel had forgotten something important or if there was an accident.

At the door stood Elizabeth, lightly shaking the rainwater off of her bonnet. She waved back to the carriage driver. Merianna held it open for her to enter, bowing and greeting her. Elizabeth looked around the bare hall while the servant took her coat and parasol (in this weather?!) for her. She asked where Ciel was, something that did not surprise anyone. Elizabeth looked a little pale, and she shivered ever so slightly.

"He's out for the moment, Lady. Shall I prepare the fire and some tea for you in the parlour room while you wait?"

Elizabeth nodded, a warm fire did sound nice. She held her hand to try to steady her shivering. Her bonnet would have to dry beside the fire, she decided. While she sat down and rested her tired body, the scullery maid struck at the flint rocks to light the fireplace. It took several tries and a few cuts before a spark ignited.

"Could you bring me some towels? I need to dry my hair." Elizabeth asked meekly.

Merianna fetched some from the storage and gave them to the Lady, asking if she wanted some help. She had also told Bardroy to fix a snack or warm soup for her.

"Where is….your attendant, Miss?"

She must have meant Paula. Elizabeth treated her curled hair gently as she dried it. A lot of her hair was falling out, brittle and wet.

"Did you not receive the messenger?" Elizabeth asked.

The servant stayed silent for a while, a disapproving answer. Still, Elizabeth felt a bit more cheerful and comfortable around her.

"My family is going to visit a colleague in northern England, but…I am not doing well…and neither is Paula. She stayed at the home while I came here so I could be with Ciel. My father should have sent a messenger telling Ciel about this! Ah well, I suppose something must have happened."

There was a knock at the door and in came Meirin and Bardroy, bringing a steaming vat of soup and Meirin held onto the china and utensils. Elizabeth said she wasn't hungry, but they insisted that she have something warm in her stomach so that she wouldn't get cold. She ate a little before excusing herself to the washroom. After she exited the room, Meirin immediately turned to Bardroy with an accusing glare.

"It wasn't me!" He spat. "The soup is fine! I've had some of it myself!"

"Lady did mention she was feeling sick. She looked pale before too." Merianna said, explaining the reasons that the Lady was here.

"That's bad indeed." Meirin murmured, "If Lady Elizabeth is feeling down, then no one is able to make Young Master happy!"

"S-Should we get a doctor?" Bardroy wondered, sincerely worried about her health.

"There's no need for that." A voice interrupted.

The servants were embarrassed when they were caught conversing about Elizabeth when she returned to the room. However, there was a warm smile on her face again.

"The soup was really good, Bardroy! I just…felt a bit sick. It's not a big problem though! I'm alright!"

To show she really meant it, she put on her biggest smile. The servants couldn't help but return it too.

"Ah! If Ciel is coming back soon, I have to make the house especially stylish and cute for him to return! Everyone is going to help me, right?"

Merianna seemed to be the only one blissfully unaware of what was to come.

* * *

The entire mansion was covered in hearts, chalked on the walls or created from bits of coloured paper stuck onto the walls. There were birds cut out of paper and seemed to be flying into the glass windows and all sorts of stars and moon shapes adorning the furniture. The servants found themselves with even more work than usual, and in a more embarrassing manner as well. There were bows and ruffled lace on all and every sleeve, collar and head. Elizabeth giggled as she decorated every room and dressed every servant. She blabbed on and on about the trends in France and the fashion trends in England. Apparently holy motifs were in, and she dressed herself in a pure white dress with pearls and spun around in it.

"I look like an angel~" she sang, spreading flowers around the front hall.

The other servants went to hide; only Merianna didn't seem to mind playing with this young girl. But even then, she had to run to keep up with her and watched her carefully as she was still sick.

"Aah…yes…" she agreed, sporting a heavy sweatdrop.

"I wish it was nicer outside, I could have bought some feathers from the hatter's, or maybe even bunnies! It would be a nice Easter party with an egg hunt and bird nests…"

Elizabeth cut her sentence short when her vision blurred, but she quickly steadied her head. Merianna came up beside her and asked if there was anything wrong.

"Maybe…I've spent too much energy, I feel a bit tired." She mumbled in reply.

She sat herself down onto the divan while Merianna took the basket of flowers from her and set it on the table. Elizabeth was feeling faint, perhaps a tiny nap would do.

"Miss, you…frightfully pale…Should …doctor?"

Elizabeth couldn't catch all the words, but she shook her head. She didn't want a doctor. She felt Merianna pick up her hand and feel her pulse.

"I'm just going to have a little nap…" she said, curling up on the divan and falling asleep.

Merianna was worried when Lady Elizabeth fell asleep, fearing that she was too sick to continue decorating the house. She wanted to rouse the sleeping lady, but seeing how pale she was, Merianna fetched a warm wool quilt to cover her. She was no doctor, but her pulse was weak and she heard grumbling noises from her stomach amidst soft breathing. She had spent most of the day here, and had only a little bit to eat, so Merianna went to the kitchen to prepare sandwiches.

When Merianna came back, Elizabeth was examining herself in the body mirror, turning to see the side of her dress. She spotted Merianna's reflection and flustered backed away from the mirror.

"I've prepared some food for you, Lady. It will help bring your energy back up."

She took a glance at them. "Oh, I'm not hungry. That's fine, I'll eat them later."

Merianna wanted to ask her if she wanted to continue decorating, humbly keeping her mouth shut about her concern. She wanted to support the Lady, but not if it was detrimental to her health. She stepped up to her beside the mirror, wondering if there was something she saw there.

"The dress is a lovely colour." Merianna complimented.

Elizabeth turned to adjust the bright yellow bow that was tied onto Merianna's wrist. There was a twist of sadness on her face when she focused on re-tying it. Merianna wasn't sure what to say, but she was worried.

"Your arm is very light." Elizabeth commented, lifting Merianna's arm up and down.

She remembered how Snake taught her a bit of biology on how bird bones are hollow to allow them to fly more easily, which would account for how frail and light Merianna's body was. She asked if he studied birds, to which he replied that his snakes sometimes ate them.

"Ah…well I come from…the poorer districts of the town… I hadn't much to eat growing up. I had to pick and sell flowers for money…" She answered.

That was true too.

"That must be nice, it doesn't look like you have to wear much of a corset either! Just…maybe stuffing!"

Merianna flustered at the comment, and remember how she had her first time in one a long time ago. She wasn't sure if she was being complimented on her body shape or not. As useful as it was during times when she had nothing to eat and had to escape via narrow passages and over fences, it was not a very strong build for hard labour as a Phantomhive servant.

"It…still hurt…quite a lot to squeeze into one…" she humbly said. "Does Lady Elizabeth also have to wear one?"

"…Yes…"

Elizabeth finished tying the bow and clasped her hands together.

"But I want to look the best for Ciel!"

She looked towards the basket of flowers and the door, but sighed. She was still too unwell to go around the house and decorate it more.

"Merianna, could you take the flowers outside? The perfume is making me faint and dizzy."

The servant nodded and went to carry out the task. Elizabeth made sure that the door was closed before she took the plate of sandwiches from the coffee table and tossed them into the fireplace.

"I'm sorry, Merianna…they were really cute too…"

* * *

Elizabeth quieted down after her nap and asked to play dress-up with the servants. Merianna was surprised to see the closets and trunks filled with costumes and clothing from different eras and places. She recognized a few that must have come from the eastern countries and even the New World accessories.

The first to be beautified was Tanaka as Marie Antoinette. His beautiful blond wig perfectly matched the beauty of his wrinkles and olden eyes. The servants watched in amazement as he accept all the frills and powder Elizabeth added on. They had much to learn from an old man's patience.

Finnian was put into a large fluffy suit to look like a baby chicken. The servants laughed at how adorable he looked. His strawberry blond hair and large puppy eyes certainly helped him look the part. He had to waddle in such a rounded and fluffed up wear.

Bardroy only had to put on bunny ears.

Meirin was made to look like a medieval princess with her high hat and olden age gown. (Out of fashion, but not for costume parties! Said Elizabeth) Meirin had the wider bust out of the three girls and the dress seemed to point out her womanly figure.

Elizabeth wanted to dress Merianna up too, but she was already one step ahead. Who knew that there was pirate wear already around?

"But Meria~! A pirate's not cute! You look like a boy in that!" Elizabeth pouted.

Merianna didn't mind being the mother hen to Finnian's chick costume, but the feathers kept tickling her and they were badly glued on. And the irony of an angel in a fat chicken suit was making her laugh even more.

Elizabeth was looking around the hats and headdress selections while the servants excused themselves to various chores, stealing Tanaka away too and entrusting the Lady to Merianna. She tried on a few hats, looking at the mirror to study how she looked best in them. Merianna only waddled around to put things back into their place. Elizabeth had found a feathery boa and placed it on her shoulders. The feathers were the same make as Merianna's costume and made her sneeze.

"Hmm, these feathers are poor quality!" she sniffed.

Elizabeth took a break and sat on the bench in the closet, glancing at her reflection in the mirror.

"Hah…maybe I should lie down again…" she huffed.

"Milady! Are you feeling sick again?" Merianna worried.

"Just a bit faint, it must be the stuffiness of the room. Let's go outside. You can take off that costume. I think bows fit you more!"

By the time the two ladies set up for a tea party outside, Ciel had returned. Despite Elizabeth's earlier spells, she seemed completely revitalized now that her fiancé was back. He was surprised when she came running over for a hug, almost knocking into Snake and Sebastian who were carrying many cases and boxes of stuff. Meirin, Finnian and Bardroy had pleaded with Sebastian to take Elizabeth back to the house or to a doctor. Once again, Ciel commented on the new decorations. Elizabeth took Ciel's hand, wanting him to join her for tea. The Elizabeth who sluggishly suggested going outside for her tea to clear her muddled head was now as bright as the sun, as if she had found new energy, Merianna noted. _I guess she didn't need a doctor after all…_she whispered to herself.

"I have to attend to other things, Elizabeth!" Ciel protested.

She whimpered and kept staring at him until he added:

"Maybe for just a few minutes…"

He motioned for Sebastian, but Merianna suddenly jumped in, intent on stealing the praise from him.

"Th-The tea has already been made, Sir!" she piped in gleefully.

Ciel's suspicious face made her falter a bit. She recovered while Elizabeth drew him to the garden. Sebastian and Snake nodded while they went to unload the rest of the carriage. The rest of the servants followed the Master and his lady to the garden.

"The servants told me about your condition, is it really okay for you to be out and about?" Ciel asked, stumbling around while being dragged.

"Uu! Of course! Now that Ciel is back, I feel much better!"

Due to the rain, the flowers, especially the roses, let out a pungent fragrance that made Ciel a bit dizzy, but it smelled nice. Meirin poured them tea while Bardroy introduced the small snacks on the cake stand. Finnian, Tanaka and Merianna waited on standby. Due to Sebastian's absence, Meirin performed her tasks well. While Ciel started to eat the crème brûlée, Elizabeth merely watched him, her hands folded neatly on her lap.

"Is this too sweet for you to eat?" Ciel asked. "Should I have something else for you to eat?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Just tea for me, please."

The servants looked concerned, but they did their tasks silently. Meirin made sure Elizabeth had as much tea as she wanted, which was very little. Even with a little bit of soup and some sandwiches, she surely couldn't have been full. The least she could be was starving. Merianna looked around for something that could perhaps enlighten the mood. Elizabeth was sitting quietly instead of acting in her usual cheerful manner. Up in the sky, she saw a faint band of colours forming. She pointed at it and opened her mouth, but she didn't know what to say.

"Uhh…Look there! A…A…how do you say it…it's un _arc-en-ciel_!"

Ciel first turned towards her before he looked to the sky, thinking that she had called him something before realizing she meant the natural phenomenon. Everyone stopped to take a look at the sky, and they all seemed to notice it as well. It seemed that the light rain was a blessing after all.

"Ahhhh~ We call that a rainbow here, Snowy." Bardroy told her.

"Waaaaaaaah~ It's' so pretty!" Elizabeth exclaimed, her eyes sparkling. "Look at all those colours!"

Elizabeth started to chatter about all the colours in their order. She kept on talking until she tired herself out. Maybe it was out of habit, but she took her spoon and ate a piece of the pudding. Before she even finished her sentence, she had already cleared her plate.

"Oh! That was good!" she smiled.

Right after the party, Ciel excused himself to attend to his other affaires, while Elizabeth left with Meirin to find and prepare her room. The rest of the servants were cleaning up and moving the chairs and furniture back inside.

"Lady Elizabeth didn't have much too eat now, did she?" Finny commented.

"Did she eat anything else after that bowl of soup, Snowy?" Bardroy asked.

Merianna answered. "I made a sandwich, I think she ate them…but I'm not sure if that's even enough…"

"Aww…If Lady Elizabeth is in a sad mood, then Young Master is in a sad mood too!" Funny whined. "She _must _be hungry!"

Bardroy took out the splint in his mouth and rubbed his forehead for ideas.

"Tanaka, could you perhaps get a doctor to come over? We can't have the Lady being sick now. If she isn't eating sweets, then we'll have to find something that she can eat."

* * *

The servants and Ciel waited outside Elizabeth's room while Meirin, Merianna and the doctor were inside. Ciel had to be wary of those who entered into his estate, but with two servants inside, it would be fine. Finally, the room opened and Meirin stepped out, closing it behind her.

"How is she?" Ciel asked quietly.

Meirin had a worried glance on her when she bowed to him.

"The doctor said that there is nothing wrong with her health…just that she needs to eat more."

The group all took the news with surprise. News that she was sick with a bug or disease would be bad, but news that supposedly nothing was wrong was worse.

"W-Would it be a strange disease that they've never heard of before?" Bardroy suggested.

Meirin shook her head. "The doctor checked everything."

As on cue, the balding man came out with his black bag and instruments. He rubbed his beard and looked at the noble warily.

"There's nothing wrong with the young lass, just keep her fed and rested. She'll be up and about by tomorrow."

"A-Are you sure!?" Finnian questioned, drawing nearer to the man.

"Finny!" Ciel hissed. "Sebastian, could you show him to the door?"

"Yes, my Lord." The butler answered, extending his arm out to lead the way.

Ciel knocked on the door before entering. Merianna was combing Elizabeth's hair while she sat on the bed. Merianna stopped to step aside once she got up to greet him.

"Ciel~ I'm perfectly fine! Sorry for worrying everyone…" she cooed.

"Elizabeth…"

"And I told you to call me 'Lizzie'! Are you finished with your work now, Ciel? Maybe we can go play an-"

"What's wrong?" Ciel interrupted, staring into her.

"Uu~ Nothing's wrong! I just feel a bit tired." She replied. "Hey, if you're free now, let's go play some chess! I'm still not as good as you are, but I'll try my hardest!"

She giggled and pranced out the door, calling to him. Ciel followed, but before he did, he faced his servants: Bardroy, Tanaka, Meirin, Merianna, Finnian and Snake.

"This is an order…find a cure."

* * *

Throughout the day, Bard, Meirin, Meri, Finny and Snake had scoured the whole town, visiting apothecaries, hospitals, doctors (even the quack ones), bookstores and even the Undertaker. None of them could suggest a suitable cure for this strange ailment. They were tired out. They came upon Prince Soma and Agni who were selling (or freely giving to the poor) their curry bread. When they heard about Elizabeth's illness, they immediately suggested curry bread. In fact, they gave them a whole bag filled with more than enough for everyone in the household. At the very least, it would put a smile on her face and something warm in her stomach. When Merianna asked if they could perhaps get Amrita, the two Indians laughed. It was nectar for the gods which granted immortality, but they claimed that it wouldn't stop Ciel if it was the cure for Elizabeth.

The curry bread was hot still, and Bardroy wanted to have Elizabeth eat it that way. Snake volunteer immediately took the bag and hailed Tanaka while the rest decided to search around the town more. Perhaps he was getting a bit uncomfortable in public. They visited two more doctors and a few people selling strange drinks on the street. One suggested a concoction of toad, worm and raw chicken innards, but the group decided not to follow this advice. They gathered in a familiar pub, although there was no suspicious group of pick-pockets in the corner and the whole building and its staff had significantly aged. They expressed their worry about their absence, but Bard reassured them that if Sebastian was still at the house, there was no need to worry. Merianna drank her usual apple-and-gin while the rest had their beer. They ate and chatted heartily. Merianna stayed quiet, still trying to piece together how she could cure the Lady.

"Ya~ What do we have here?" a familiar slithery voice asked.

There was a man dress in green clothing with his doll-like companion at his side.

"Mr. Lau!" Meirin addressed, fixing the glasses on her face.

"Ah!" Merianna suddenly realized. "Mr. Lau! Do you know of a medicine that can cure anything?"

He put a hand against his mouth and started whispering to Ran-Mao beside him.

"Y-Yeah! Lately, Lady Elizabeth has been overcome by errr…dizzy spells, fainting, pale skin. She hasn't been eating lately and Young Master is very worried." Bardroy added.

Looks like Bardroy beat him before he could come up with some strange and awful-sounding advice…just to ask what the situation was. Lau tucked his hands into his sleeves again, brow furrowed.

"It may not just be physical." He finally answered.

He pointed at his head.

"Perhaps she's sick in here. And for that, I know this lovely place wi-"

But by that time, Bardroy and the servants had already left the establishment, payment left on the table.

The director of head surgery at the hospital could not help them either.

* * *

The servants returned with no antidote in their hands and no advice to follow. It clearly disappointed Ciel, who threw out a few words before stomping off to his bedroom. It seemed that Elizabeth had refused the curry bread, claiming that she was weary of spicy foods. At dinner, she had eaten very little, excusing herself frequently to leave the table. The servants all followed Lady Elizabeth reverently, watching her and guarding her. Since Ciel still had his business work to do, they all retired to the parlour room for games and drawing. Lady Elizabeth had an aptitude in painting especially, painting a picture of the entire household in thanks for keeping good care of her. She even made minute details like Snake's scaly skin (she noted, but didn't speculate) and the every wrinkle on Tanaka's face.

"Hey! We should hang this up somewhere so everyone to see!" She gleefully said.

She was already rushing out the parlour doors, parchment paper in hand. The servants called out for her to wait, scrambling after her. There was a crash of wood against the wall and when they came out, Lady Elizabeth had fainted on the floor, next to a table she must have tried to use to steady herself.

"Lady! Lady!" Meirin cried.

Snake immediately went to go inform Ciel and Sebastian while Bardroy lifted her body up and back to the parlour room. There was a gash on her head from where she fell and Merianna went to fetch the medical supplies. The house was completely reawakened and every servant was bustling over something or over to somewhere. Merianna and Meirin had to check her body for any other injuries, but luckily there were none.

She was unconscious, but still breathing. Finny and Merianna were near tears over what happened. Ciel too, was starting to panic. Sebastian restrained him and calmed him down.

"Dammit…this is because I hadn't been paying attention to her!" He cursed.

"That's not true..." Snake replied. "She was having fun with us…says Faust."

Still, the guilt made the collected and calm noble grimace and fall to his knees beside his fiancée.

"S-Sir…may I?" a small voice asked.

He turned to Merianna, who had one of her tarot cards out. _The Moon._

"What will that do to her?" He muttered.

"If…I can reach into her mind with this card…maybe we can find out what's wrong with her."

Ciel closed his eyes to judge the situation.

"Do it, Merianna. Bring Elizabeth back."

She understood it as an order and confidently replied a "Yes, my Lord."

"_Risado sirscunus…Dris-Vit_"

Her smile immediately disappeared when there were voices in her head. She could handle hearing them, but they started to multiply. It wasn't just a couple words now but full on crowds and crowds of them speaking in her head. She held her head as if she couldn't keep it together. The voices changed topic from speaking about how she would use her card to what was wrong with her, and what would happen to Elizabeth. Their concern grew as Merianna struggled to keep her thoughts contained and their thoughts organized.

"I…I can't…do this…too many people in the room!" she snapped.

There was surprise in the voices until one of them reunited the others and theirs started to fade out. Now only Ciel's remained. All she heard was worry, concern, a little bit of guilt and awkwardness. Now the voices didn't threaten to split her head and she could open her eyes again. She turned her attention from him to Elizabeth, but there was no sound coming from her. Even when Merianna leaned closer, not a word came from her head.

"I think…that I have to go in deeper." Merianna decided, informing Ciel. "I'll be back."

"Where are you going?" Ciel demanded.

"Inside her head." Merianna said, pointing at her forehead.

She let out her great wings, hearing the knuckles crack and feeling great relief. She felt more comfortable with her wings out than hidden in her tiny body. With them, she was able to draw more power from _Dris-Vit_. And so she focused on letting The Moon shine its light onto Elizabeth's thoughts. Just as she would step from one room into another, her spirit slipped into the mind of the young lady, leaving her body limp and unused beside hers.

She entered into a void of darkness, but there was the back of a figure in front of her, a while away. It was surely Lady Elizabeth there. Merianna was just about to walk up to her when she noticed that her wings were still opened. If she shut them back into her body, she would be forced out, but she realized the consequences of being recognized. Even if this was in Elizabeth's unconscious, she wouldn't want to make her question. Suddenly, she had an idea.

"I'll open the nutshell to bring out a dress that is as silver as the moon…" she whispered.

In the Grimm tale, the princess had a magic nutshell that contained her dresses: one that shone as brightly as the sun, another glittered as the stars and one that glowed like the moon. Like this, she was able to disguise herself, as no one would recognize her in such beautiful clothing.

Except what Dris-Vit could give was not as beautiful. Instead, they only gave Merianna the eternal luminescent (or non-luminescence that is…) of the moon. The glow didn't hurt her own eyes, but she could tell that no human would be likely to stare for too long. Like this, she proceeded to Elizabeth. Just when she was about to reach her, Elizabeth turned around. She held up her eyes against the white light.

"Wh-Wha…Who's there?" she whimpered.

"I'm…Meri…Meri…" she started, but stopped when she didn't want to give out her name.

"Mary? Virgin Mary? Is that really you?"

Merianna never heard of such a noble. Or perhaps it was a name. Like her street-name. But with a virgin. _Was that something so amazing that it created such a well known name? That she had never birthed a child? _Merianna pondered.

"Y-Yes…" she huffed.

Elizabeth held her hands together in prayer.

"I'm Elizabeth Midford, O Holy Spirit. I am your humble servant, dear Mother."

Merianna wasn't sure how to react. Who were nobles servants to, aside from the Queen? She was addressed as a mother, so she must have been seen as some motherly figure. She donned on her pantomime mask and replied.

"Raise your head, child. I came here to cure you of your sickness. Tell me, what has been plaguing you so? I've heard that you haven't eaten and are very weak and frail."

Elizabeth took her arms and looked away, an expression of pain and sorrow on her face. She looked back at Merianna before looking away again. Merianna waited patiently for her decision.

"I don't feel the need for hunger…" she replied.

"That's a lie. The growling from your stomach has reached my ears. Why do you refuse food? Is it not good enough for you?"

Elizabeth held her stomach and her face grew red from embarrassment and blame.

"T-That's not it, Great Mother. I…just don't want to eat…"

Against the dark void, there was suddenly a surface that shimmered and mirrored Elizabeth's figure, as if it were a mirror (think hologram). Elizabeth reached out and touched it. It was perfectly her figure, but the reflection bore Elizabeth's usual cheerful smile.

"I want to look cute and stylish. I want to look young and pretty. I want Ciel to look at me and love me. I know that if I don't look and do my best, I'll cause him trouble."

The reflection of the lady suddenly grew in contrast. She was much bright, happier, and dainty than the real one who was crying now. Not her usual sobbing, but tears from where her heart hurt. The Elizabeth in the mirror could make sobbing cute, but yet she was not real. She dropped to her knees and held her face in her hands, her curled hair shielding her.

"I want him to always love me! Just as much as I love him! If I eat too much, he'll think I'm not cute! If I eat too much, I won't fit into pretty dresses any more! I want to look cute, not just for myself, but for him too!"

Merianna felt a lot of sympathy towards this girl. As she was a noble, there were many restrains and responsibilities put upon her. Many would be watching her and exposing any and every flaw they saw in her. She remembered when Elizabeth was commenting about corsets and Merianna's body. She supposed that stuffing was easier than to squeeze into a corset.

But why would she suffer so much for one person? It seemed like a poison affected her, draining her of her will to eat. That poison was Ciel Phantomhive. Merianna felt her throat, where Jake had threatened to cut her. Except when she looked at Elizabeth, it seemed different. Nevertheless about her own conflicting thoughts, she approached Elizabeth and knelt down beside her.

"Lady Elizabeth, you are much too beautiful for this. A flower can't grow unless it has been watered and cared for. Let the sky provide you with rain, and grow strong from it. I'm sure that Ciel…loves you very much, and in the right way too. He has truly been worried about your health. Whether your face is red from crying or not, he will always treasure you. Don't worry, my lady, you don't have to worry about how society thinks of you."

Elizabeth didn't stop crying, but Merianna was sure that if they talked enough, she would come to an understanding with her. Merianna sat beside her and pulled Elizabeth close to her and let her lean against her shoulder, just as Jake used to do. It was always a comforting move and her wings seemed to shield Elizabeth.

"I…want to look cute. I want to fit into dresses. People will laugh at me if I eat too much. They think that I'm a wild girl who can't control herself…They'll make fun of Ciel too, for having to deal with such a feisty lady. They'll treat me like a savage! Unrefined!"

"Is that what people think? That's only what people will see in you, but Ciel knows, and all your friends know, that Lady Elizabeth is a wonderful person. Food is food. Any living creature knows that. Humans will die if they don't eat…and I don't think Ciel would want that."

Merianna continued, and Elizabeth had stopped crying to listen to her.

"I like Lady just as she is, eating lots of good things and having the energy to make Ciel smile. If Lady Elizabeth is too tired and hungry to do this, _everyone_ would be sad, and so will you. There's no need for you to suffer this, Miss. There's no need for you to suffer at all, so please don't force yourself for this."

Elizabeth sniffed and rubbed her emerald eyes, nodding to her.

"Thank you, Mary. I really want…to just make Ciel happy. If he isn't happy like this…then I'll stop. He wants me to stop, so I won't make myself suffer any more. I think I should…wake up now."

Elizabeth Midford was doing much better recovering. She had eaten the things that were cooked for her and gave Ciel the biggest hug when she woke up. Ciel never left her side. She told him about meeting the Virgin Mary who gave Elizabeth her blessing and how she was an angel in a bright light. Ciel only told her that she was being childish and that she was simply dreaming. Nevertheless, he stayed close to Elizabeth now and paid much more attention to her. The colour returned to her face and she felt much more energetic and alive. She even beat Ciel in a chess match once.

While Elizabeth dragged Ciel down the hallway to play a game of Scavenger Hunt, the last item to be found on the list was 'feathers'. They looked everywhere, but the feather boa was gone, as well as the feathers on every hat and clothing on the estate. After a long while of searching, Elizabeth came back to the servants quarters, complaining that it was too hard to find and that the servants had done too well of a job in finding it. Elizabeth soon gave up on finding it, resolving to go and paint a picture instead. She was going to paint Ciel's portrait, having seated him in a chair and set herself up on the easel. By mistake, she had smudged the blue of his clothing on her wrists and reached in her pocket to fetch her handkerchief.

And there were two feathers there. They were soft and long, delicate but strong. Elizabeth had to stop her painting to hold it in her hands and to examine it. It was the length of her hand, certainly not to be found on any common bird. She called Ciel over to see it as well, claiming that it was from the Virgin Mary who had told her many things. It was silvery-white, pure, and Elizabeth held it close to her.

In a room in the servants' quarters, Merianna smiled to herself. Above, she could hear hurried footsteps and the joyful sound of an excited girl running around the house. The smile lasted for just a second before a sharp twinge of pain erupted from her wing. She didn't think that it would hurt that much just to pluck feathers from her wings. Birds constantly lost feathers and re-grew them, but she didn't think it was as painful as this. It bled too, and the pain was much worse when she folded her wings inside her body. Although it was something as simple as a sting every now and again, Merianna could survive it.


	8. Men and Means

Lady Elizabeth was much better now that her spirits was higher. Even though Merianna talked with her, she could not guarantee that Elizabeth would regain her usual weight. She talked about it to Ciel, who then asked Sebastian and Bard to cook something agreeable and easy to eat. She ate every meal with relish, appreciating that which kept her alive. Even if it was Bard's cooking. She asked Sebastian to help her glue the feathers onto her headband, which she felt every now and then. No one seemed to realize where the feathers had come from, but noted how soft and pure-white they were. While Merianna felt a sting in her back every now and again, she didn't regret it. She had four wings, so there was no scarcity of feathers! There were some times that the lady felt tired, but they were getting fewer and less strong as her strength returned. For the whole week that she stayed, Ciel Phantomhive stayed as well. Merianna wondered if he was postponing the missions from the Queen. There were letters and mail that she collected everyday, yet there seemed to be none that had to be sent. Merianna didn't think Ciel regretted that either.

At the moment, the nobles were outside, playing croquet. (Where are the flamingos? She asked herself) Sebastian, Finny and Tanaka were outside to take care of them while the other servants stayed inside. Merianna was helping Bardroy cook dinner, doing little jobs like chopping the legumes and fetching water. Even after all these years, she was still scullery level. But to her, that meant that she didn't have to bear as much responsibility as the others. Be given an order, carry it out. That was how her daily routine went. Even if it was Bard's cooking. If there was an explosion, which was quite frequent, there was not one- but two persons caught in the blast. Merianna wondered if all the soot and smoke would have turned her hair black, but it remained the same dull platinum.

Since Elizabeth was returning soon, Bardroy wanted to cook a yummy dessert and decorate it with all sort of "cute" things. And then possibly light it on fire. Merianna read the instructions from the recipe book to him while he prepared the oven and chopped up all the ingredients in one fluid motion. His motions seemed like a rhythmic dancing, every move had a purpose and a passion for creation. That was until he took out the dynamite. Before he lit up the wooden splint in his hands, Merianna put a hand on his arm.

"He said not to use it." She mumbled quietly.

She didn't like repeating orders to others. Especially Sebastian's. He sighed, knowing that she was right. Instead, he took the time to wait for the fire to reach a desirable heat before placing the bowl inside.

"Well, I'm all done here, Snowy. You should go check if Meirin or Snake need any help."

He gave her a rough pat on the head before letting her leave.

"And don't forget!"

He put on a wide smile, which she grinned in reply. Since Elizabeth came, the whole mansion had to remember to smile. Smiling would make the Young Master smile too, they believed. Merianna wanted to support him too, but to her, smiling meant something else entirely. Meirin was found dragging out the carpets and drapes out to beat in the sun. The one she was carrying seemed especially heavy, and was causing dust to be spread all around the room while she was dragging it outside. Merianna hurriedly came over to help her. It was heavy, despite being a single piece of woven fabric. It took them both a good half hour to bring to outside. They both had fun beating the dust out of it. Meirin told her about one time that Finnian tried to help out.

Who knew a carpet could fly so far even with a hole in it? It disappeared, off to transport Arabian princes to their princesses with magic.

"I heard that Young Master recently had to decline several invitations to parties!" Meirin whispered, "I think it's because of Lady Elizabeth's health. I'm glad I work for such a kind master!"

Suddenly, there was a squealing heard on the other side of the hedge, close to where the nobles were playing their game. Meirin motioned to Merianna to keep quiet and crept near the hedges. They popped into it and listened carefully among the rustling green leaves.

"But Ciel! We haven't left this place at all! A party would be just what we need!" a shrill voice whined.

"Elizabeth! You're just recovering from your sickness! A party would just drain you!" they heard their master argue.

Merianna slapped a hand over her mouth. _Not another party to attend…!_ She begged. They heard Elizabeth and Ciel arguing over an invitation to a party hosted by a prestigious family. Sebastian spoke, but they couldn't hear his voice properly. Suddenly, a ball whizzed just between Meirin and Merianna's face, causing them to almost jump out in fright.

"Oops, my apologies, Young Master. I must have hit the ball much too hard." Sebastian said coolly.

Meirin and Merianna scrambled out before they came to investigate the hedges.

* * *

The party invitation sat on Ciel desk, unopened and waiting. Ciel stared at it for the longest time, not so much at the address it was sent from but from whom it was sent from. He sat there as still as a consumer of cow meat who protects the Queen. (Seriously, where _does_ the word beefeater comes from?) The light outside his window changed brightness a few times as clouds came to block the sun, and they too, passed.

"Young Master, if you keep like that, you'll soon have mushrooms growing out of you."

Ciel turned his skeptical eye at his butler. "What are you talking about, Sebastian?"

He smiled cheekily in reply. "I think it would be a good idea to attend the party." He offered.

Ciel turned his attention back to the letter.

"Who is Alessia Hikari Marisue Bercham? I have not heard of such a lady."

"She's the niece of the Viscount of Druitt. She's only just returned from Japan." Sebastian informed him.

At the sound of the dreaded lord and the lady's relation to him, Ciel scrunched up the envelope.

"But Young Master, she is Lady Elizabeth's close friend and both eagerly wait for you to accept." Sebastian added slyly.

* * *

"Do you not want to go to the party, Meri?" Finnian asked.

She pulled up another carrot from the carrot and put it in the basket. While she had to use almost all of her body weight and strength to pull one out, Finny made it seem like he was plucking a cherry from a tree. Their clothes were both now dirty from all the soil, and flecks of mud had buried themselves in their hair. She shook her head in reply. Perhaps it was her bad experience with them, and not to mention the hell she went through just for a corset. She would much rather curl up in the library listening to the fire crackle and read.

"In that case, you should talk to Young Master about it. I mean, someone has to stay behind to watch the house, right?" he encouraged.

Finny was good-hearted, but she didn't feel like telling him how horrible she felt having to leave her master. What if something happened to him at the party? Still, there was the factor of being honest with him. She was also scared of his reaction. Merianna had no spine at all, and even now, her eyes were getting blurry.

"I'll stay behind with you."

"W-Wh-What?" she muttered, quickly wiping the tears before they slid down her face.

"I don't want you to be lonely if you stay behind." Finny said earnestly. "And you know what? We can have our own party! Just you, me and Plu-Plu!"

Finny pulled the carrot top too hard and dirt sprayed everywhere. There was enough to cake them both in brown mess. Merianna laughed at his enthusiasm and wiped the dirt off of herself. At least now they had a good excuse not to get all dollied up.

Surprisingly, Ciel Phantomhive agreed to let Merianna and Finny stay. He had no qualms at all and a simple 'okay' seemed to have set them free from a night of social interaction. It was like he was prepared for this discussion, as once Finny and Merianna had worked up the courage to make their suggestion, he answered in a snap. Maybe he was hiding something. He dismissed them from his study and it was only when the two had stepped outside the closed room that Merianna took hold of her friend's arm and happily rejoiced.

"If you didn't give me the courage to, I would have never asked!" she gushed. "Ah! Sorry…if you wanted to go…I hope you don't mind."

He replied that he was tired of having to dress up as well, and he was sure that he would have just about as much fun with her than at the party. Merianna agreed in her mind. Finnian looked his best-and happiest-in his bland cotton shirt, plaid pants and worn-out straw hat.

They parted ways to finish up what remained of their chores. Finnian had to chop up a couple more cords of wood while Merianna had to polish the rails of the front stairs. She hummed while she wiped the wax onto the wood. In the corner of her eye, she watched as Meirin ran from room to room with all sorts of dresses and accessories. No doubt that Lady Elizabeth and Master Ciel were getting ready. Bardroy was slightly disappointed that his dinner would not be in use at all, telling Merianna to share it between her and Finnian. He too, had preparations to attend to. Snake was seen carrying a large bag with him to the front hall. Merianna offered to help but a hissing that came inside scared her away. It seemed that everyone in the household was rushing except for her.

Before she knew it, the invitees were bustling out to the front hall, forcing Merianna to move out of the way. She smiled when she saw how beautiful they were in their dresses or suits, yet too shy to tell them that. Tanaka had driven the horse carriage up and it was time for them to leave. She bowed and wished them all a great time and safe travel. Meirin gave her a quick hug before leaving. Merianna offered Ciel her Wheel of Fortune card, just to know that he was safe and well. However, Sebastian snatched it up and put it in his breast pocket, assuring her that he would be fine because she was not coming along. Sebastian then gave Merianna a very long list of things to do while they were out, inscribing in very hard and bright red ink to NOT DO ANYTHING STUPID. She glared at Sebastian, who returned the look.

* * *

Alessia Marisue Hikari Bercham stared at the sealed envelope in front of her and smiled to herself. _Of course he would accept_, she snickered to herself. She stroked her long silky violet hair, all the way to the golden blonde tips. She didn't even have to open the envelope to know that Ciel Phantomhive and his demon butler were coming to her party. Things always went as she planned. Her normally sapphire eyes glowed emerald with delight. It would be the perfect opportunity to get rid of Sebastian, her previous lover from hell. Her uncle, Aleister Chamber, had only wanted her to host a party to announce her return from Japan, but she cleverly planned for a night of murder and pain.

The Rouge-Gorges helped her with that.

She leaned back in her chair and put her boots up on the desk. She hated how delicate and fragile English girls were compared to her, and especially how they saw her yukata as too revealing and socially unacceptable. They bullied it for it, as well as her perfect hourglass shaped figure, her well toned skin complexion and muscles, her vivid impossibly-coloured natural hair and her eyes that seemed like a kaleidoscope. Also her name, which they always pronounced 'Alicia Mary Sue High Kerry Birch am'. However, she had her revenge when her own demon servant Robert eliminated them all. They were just jealous of her. Not that she would have done it herself with her purple katana that could grow beautiful ebony roses from the ground and kill them; she just didn't want to stain her kimono that day.

"Milady, shall I start decorating the mansion that man gave to you?" a voice asked.

Robert, with his ever glossy and spiky goldenrod hair, stepped into the room. With him was a plate of checkered cookies, the best any demon could make. Alessia smiled and popped one into her mouth.

"He's not just any man." Alessia replied. "He mistook me for his niece…who I already reaped. I'm just grateful that he treated us so nicely. I might as well act the part…after all, my mother and father already died…And I told you to just call me Alessia~!"

It was unusual seeing a demon subordinate themselves under a shinigami. However, Alessia and Robert already went through an entire Romeo-and-Juliet-esque romance story prior to their present reality. They broke up, but due to Robert's undying devotion to Alessia, he stayed with her on good terms.

Robert sighed "Is it such a good idea to be so stubborn? And this party as well…"

"Don't worry about it," she replied. "Uncle Aleister wants it as part of a silly plan he has with the Rouge-Gorges. It's the perfect way to lure Sebastian and Ciel under my battlements. After all, he told me to 'keep everyone busy'. You know…Sebastian and I used to love each other very much. But…he only used me to get out of Hell. I was exiled, humiliated, fired...! My shinigami status of Princess taken away…I come back to this realm and what do I see? He's slaving over a young human boy!"

She threw a cookie in the air and snapped her fingers. A flame erupted around it and burnt it all before it fell to the ground. Her eyes shimmered from emerald to indigo as she watched it being engulfed in her fire. She got off her seat and went to go get ready. Just as she stepped out her study room, ruffians in black cloaks stood at the door.

"We were sent here to protect you, Miss Alessia." The leader spoke.

"No need…but if you are going to hang around my party, you'll have to change those clothes- just to blend in a little. Robert! Give them some of your extra suits. They'll be my servants for a while."

"Yes…I think that would work." Robert mumbled.

In her bedchamber, Alessia changed into her dress, added a bit of rouge and curled her hair into ringlets. The grey wolf lying on her bed perked his ears up every now and again, watching her. Her dress was made from the finest materials, deep ebony black silk that brought out the colour of her hair and eyes. It had red trimmings and only reached to her knees. A lot of people would scowl at her choice of clothing, but she wanted to be mobile and ready to attack if needed. A knock interrupted her final touches of flowers in her hair as she heard Robert announcing that the first guests have arrived.

"Yes!" she rejoiced, leaping around the room.

"Sakura, you have to stay here." She added, addressing her ninja wolf companion.

The wolf whined, ears folded back, and jumped off the bed to follow her to the door. He didn't cross the threshold because if he did, the magic seals wouldn't be able to contain his full form. Alessia, wanting to surprise her guests, flung herself on the rail of the stairs and started sliding down, screaming with fun. Just before she reached the end, there was a young boy heading up the stairs, hand on the hail.

"GET OUT OF THE WAAAAY!" she screamed.

He was too slow to react, so she quickly slammed her hands on the rail in front of her with enough force to stop her weight and cartwheeled along the rail, planting her feet just before the boy's hand. Like a trapeze artist, she balanced her feet on the rail and raised her arms in the air triumphantly. There was only the sound of one person clapping.

And it was Sebastian.

The young boy stared up at her with his one eye. She sensed the contract hidden in his other.

"Are you an entertainer for this party?" He asked. "Could you direct me to the owner of this place?"

"I _am_ the owner of this house!" she roared.

She aimed a kick at this boy, but suddenly, she felt someone picking her up and placing her back on her feet near the bottom of the stairs. Robert stopped her, luckily, having known her for her short temper.

"I present to you the Lady Alessia, your hostess." He said calmly, taking his hands off of her.

Ciel bowed and climbed back down the stairs. "My apologies for being late…although it doesn't seem to have mattered much…Our carriage broke en route, and I had the rest of my servants go back with it."

She ground her teeth and the emptiness of the building and his noticing of it. However, she kept a cool façade, eying Sebastian out of the corner of her eyes. She then met the eyes of the assassins dressed as servants around the room.

"That's perfectly fine, Earl." She said, putting a hand against her hip. "I don't expect many people to be leaving anyhow!"

Suddenly, there was a gunshot, glass breaking and one of the assassin's groans of pain all at the same time. He fell to his knees and clutched his bleeding shoulder. The double doors burst open and there were a few men in suits rushing in with heavy looking guns. The scaly male who led them rushed straight to Ciel's side.

"But that doesn't mean I came alone." Ciel finished.

Alessia grumbled and took out her hairpin, transforming it into her death scythe – a halberd.

"Robert! Sakura!" she called.

A large howling erupted and the mansion shook. A large wolf suddenly came barrelling down the stairs. The battle commenced as the Phantomhive household and mafia started firing at all and every Bercham member.

* * *

Earlier, she checked on The Lovers card. She was freaking out because it showed that the wielder was dead, but then she calmed after remembering that Sebastian had it in his pocket. Demons were never living. They weren't exactly living, but they weren't dead either. They simply existed. She sighed, there was no use constantly checking.

To take her mind off, Merianna and Finnian were outside, eating the pie and beef pie on a laid out tablecloth. It was late and they watched the stars above them. There was just enough light for them to see the silhouette of the house and just enough darkness to see the celestial objects. While Finnian learned a bunch of constellation locations, Merianna knew the lore behind each- even if she couldn't find a single one. For the first time, he revealed the number tattooed onto his neck, explaining how he was tested by the scientists and how he escaped.

"Sometimes I hurt things-_break_ things, when I hold them." he confessed, "But since I came here, I've been able to get more used to it! I get to spend every day outside and there are things here that I can do for people using my strength. That's why I'll protect this plac-Ahh…sorry I made you cry…!"

Merianna wiped her eyes, telling him not to mind her. A large howling interrupted their conversation. It was coming from Pluto, who was sitting at the cliff edge of the property. Finny helped her up and they went to investigate. Had Merianna taken her cards with her, she wouldn't have been more fearful. But they were inside, left on her bed. She followed Finnian to where they started hearing voices, the front. She pulled him into the hedges, to watch whatever was happening as their eyes adjusted. There were cloaked men there, moving stealthily and silently to the front door…

"Ah fer god's sake! No one's in!" the one at the front yelled.

The group shed their stealth and all grumbled, looking into the windows and checking the door. Merianna heard the leaves beside her rustle and the twigs breaking off. She tried to grab Finny's shirt to hold him back, missed, and snatched off his hat instead. She whispered a 'what are you doing?', but he must not have heard. Finny stepped out of the hedge and blocked the road back, assuming a strong stance.

"What are you doing here?" he growled.

The men turned towards him, many of them gasping and cursing.

"Are you one of the servants here?!" one asked.

Finnian cracked the knuckles in his hands.

"Young Master said not to let anyone on the property, so you should get out."

The men all hesitated, most looking to the speaker of their group. He reached a hand in his cloak and drew out a silver gun. The rest of them followed suite. There were in total 17 guns pointed at him. Finny didn't flinch.

"It's 17 versus one. You still wanna take us on, boy?"|

In the hedge, Merianna watched, biting her lip anxiously. She was absolutely useless without her cards so far away and would probably hinder Finny more than help if she were to suddenly rush in. There was a chance that she could run back into the house to fetch her cards, but she didn't like the idea of leaving Finny alone. Finnian suddenly jumped forward towards them, taking them by surprise. He let out a guttural roar as he slammed his face into the nearest man, knocking him into the others around him. There were shots firing from unsteady and shaking hands. Merianna closed her eyes and put her fists against her ears upon hearing the sound of grunt, bones breaking and flesh pounding into cement. It wasn't stopping any time soon.

Finnian continued slamming the man's head into the ground. He was surprised that the neck muscles still held. When there was only half left, he stood up to take the next intruder, muttering under his breath what his master had said to him. There were just three more, begging in front of them to let them go. They promised many things and pleaded for his pity on not just them, but their acclaimed wives and sick children at home.

"F-F-Finny!"

Finnian looked back to his friend, shaking like a leaf. She clung to her apron and tears were running down her cheeks. He came back to reality just as he realized that she had witnessed the whole grisly scene. He looked down at his hands, coming to as to how bloody red they were and to the road where there were organs and flesh spewed everywhere. The men now begging him on their knees, pressing their heads against the wet cement.

"Fi…Finny…st-stop this…" she pleaded. "St-stop… Let them-them-them…go "

"B-But…Master said…not to…"

He picked up a man pressing his head to his feet by the collar and held him up. He needed to follow his orders, and no one would tell him otherwise. Absolutely no one would divert him from his orders. If someone steps onto the estate when he and Sebastian were gone, Finnian had to kill them and erase their presence. The man too, was crying, shaking his head. It wasn't the Finny wanted to kill, but he had to. That was his duty and how he would eternally repay the Phantomhive house. He was strangling the man. There was an extra pair of hands that suddenly grabbed his arms.

"No Finny! Stop this! You're killing him! Finny!" she screamed, trying to wring his arms away.

It didn't stop Finny much, but he had to still her. He let go of the man and had to push her aside. The man scrambled to his feet, and with his companions, ran away from them. Finny watched them from where he stood.

"Merianna…why did you have to stop me?" he whispered.

He admired her for her empathetic and kind personality, but now he saw its fatal flaw. Even if she begged, there was no way that he was going to disobey his master. Even if they got away and never came back, he couldn't forgive himself. Merianna was going to be disappointed in him, he knew, but he set off running after the men.

She was left alone, where she stamped her foot and called him an idiot. She didn't have the stamina to run after him, and even if she did catch up, there was no questioning what he would do. She could only wish for them to escape before Finny came upon them. Her wings, one with two feathers pulled off, wrapped around her, as if she could hide her eyes from the horrible scene. When her vision cleared and adjusted to the black and red splotches, she saw a piece of white on the door. She approached and picked up the piece of paper stuck in the doorway. The men must have accidentally got it caught when they tried to get in. It didn't matter though, what was written on the piece of paper was what was written on the door in a dark red paint. Drawn around the message was a crest of the Rouge-Gorges.

* * *

There were bodies everywhere, from Ciel's mob compatriots to the Rouge-Gorge hoodlums. Some died from their own battles, others were caught in the conflict of Demon and Shinigami, snakes versus a very large ninja wolf or simply by their own terms.

"Not feeling like yourself today, Sebastian?" Alessia mocked.

"I'm afraid my true form would be shedding feathers all over your floor," he replied, "which I plan to wipe with your face."

It seemed like the sands of time reverted back, or stopped entirely. They both recalled Hell, how Alessia had to block Sebastian from escaping through the gates. Only none of them were in tears, but now in broken smiles and rage. They clashed - halberd to knives. Sebastian was smart enough to target the pole instead of the blade. Otherwise, he'd have nothing but the gloves on his hands. She spied her own butler wasting the bodies of the mafia, and her wolf chomping at the one snake-man. It was definitely one sided. She searched until her eyes found a small kid scrambling around. She took out a kunai from her leg, skilfully aimed, charged it with fire, and threw it at the kid. No human would distract them.

As expected, Sebastian's eyes grew wide and he dashed toward the boy, taking the kunai to the shoulder. Even in battle, the boy was more important than himself. She frowned.

"Does this boy…mean so much to you?" she hissed, poison dripping from her tongue.

She swung her halberd up, at the 12 o clock position.

"Well then I'll end everything."

Like the hands of a clock counting down, her arms circled the halberd clockwise until they came back to either midnight or noon. The black vines that spread along the tiled floor flourished in black flowers. The men below stared at them, enrapt in their beauty. Robert and Sakura, both knowing what was happening, leapt back behind her. Robert was taking off his bloodied gloves, Sakura licking a purple-blue wound.

The vines were wrapping around Sebastian, who had Ciel in his arms. The holy bells were rung out of nowhere, condemning them to death. There was a loud ticking and it was too late when Alessia realized that was not from her. There was a large flash of light and heat from somewhere, causing her to shield her eyes. Just when she was about to react, there was a bang and she felt something shred into her shoulder.

When the flash cleared, there were no more battles between mafia and assassins. Only Robert, Alessia and Sakura on the Bercham side, and Sebastian, Ciel, the snake-man, a grubby haired chef with a large machine strapped on him, and a maid with a sniper rifle in her hands. The tables had turned, she realized. Sakura beside her was growing faint, drooling and turning pale. It must have been the poison. Alessia had no time, and whispered into her pet's ear. Death came quicker than a slow poison.

"Robert…I want my revenge…on Sebastian…" she whispered, clutching her shoulder.

The bullet was too deep inside, too large and too risky to take out…for now. She was sure the creator had something up her sleeve for a totally overpowered character such as herself.

"Robert…this is an order…kill everyone."

Robert smiled a faint smile, transforming into his true form. A regal golden lion stood in front of Alessia and roared. The maid raised her sniper and the chef snapped the machine on his back to the ground, revealing a large machine gun. At Ciel's order, they started firing. The smoke and ground made a dense fog, yet they didn't stop shooting. Sebastian, seeing his opportunity, rushed into the cover and turned into his demon form to finish the large cat off.

* * *

Alessia was hastily making her way past the rose gardens, to the secret house on the other side of her property. Thanks to Robert's distraction, she got away with only a bullet to the shoulder. Now everyone was dead. She felt a tingle on the back where the demon seal was being lifted. Once she got back to the Shinigami world and healed herself, she would get herself more allies. She wouldn't just have demons, but the entirety of the Rouge-Gorges. She'd even get herself angels if she had to.

"Should I let you escape, just for old time's sake? Or are we too bound to our duties?" a voice behind her mused.

She turned around, but no one was there. She picked up her halberd and readied it beside her.

"A demon, to eat. A shinigami, to reap."

"Sebastian…you'll never get me alive…" Alessia said defiantly.

Burning red eyes seared through the dense forest, taking over the shinigami princess like a snuffed out candle.

"Seems we started off on the wrong foot." The black demon crowed. "I am Sebastian Michaelis, your interrogator."

* * *

The Phantomhive servants searched around the rooms for clues and information. Snake stayed to make sure all enemies were dead. His snakes were tired of emptying their venom and their jaws were sore. The men all had the same silver crest in their pockets or somewhere on their bodies. Ciel told Snake to gather them so they could sell it to the market.

"Don't forget the silver handguns either; they would make a large profit."

Silver guns…they sounded familiar. Only when he picked one up from underneath a corpse did he recognize the familiar weapon. The Harrier fellow had one such on him. Snake furrowed his brow. Whose side was he on? The more guns he collected, the more confused he was. It seemed that every Rouge-Gorge member was assigned a uniform silver gun and silver crest. A petty thief gang wouldn't have that much money or resources for such fine items. At least not for _every _member.

His snakes sensed the return of Sebastian, whom Ciel had sent out to track down the crazy girl who escaped. The butler pressed a hand to his master's shoulder and spoke to him. Snake turned back to his work. His snakes were too tired to inject any venom into the corpses, but Snake was sure that most of them were dead anyways.

He waited by Ciel until the other servants returned from their house searches. Meirin came back first with a couple of pages in her hands. "Came back" refers to how she tripped down the stairs and the rug on the floor, splattering herself in the least delicate way. There were clear pentacles, various scribblings and instructions, all with a robin stamp on the pages, detailing what seemed to be a mystery. Bardroy then arrived, calling Sebastian to help him move something. The rest of them waited patiently there.

"So all of them are dead, I suppose?" Ciel stated, eying the various bodies. "I guess that means Hawkins as well."

Hawkins…oh right. It was the Harrier fellow.

"He's not here…says Emily" Snake translated.

The maid beside them took off her glasses and scanned the area while Ciel stared at Snake for clarification.

"When Sebastian told me to go fetch them, Harri…He was not there. He did not come in the first place." Snake reported.

Ciel sniffed dismayingly and turned his gaze away.

"And what about Elizabeth? Nothing happened to her while everyone came back?"

"No sir!" Meirin reported. "Lady fell asleep while Tanaka drove her home."

Meirin's area check confirmed Snake's statement. What Sebastian carried back was several large chests. Bardroy was lagging behind, amazed at how he could carry such a heavy thing so easily. He had in his hands just a few compared to the many that the black butler had.

"What are those?" Ciel asked.

"Armaments. Guns. Blades. All seem to be made for a large group of people." Sebastian replied. "Bardroy also found various precious items- most likely stolen."

Sebastian set the items on the ground and turned one of the trunks over to reveal a symbol branded on the bottom. The symbol of the crown. Snake watched as his friends reacted to it, surprise and unsettlement etched on their faces.

"From what we can infer from this," Sebastian continued, "is that either the Queen is supporting the Rouge-Gorges…yet ordering you to eliminate them, or that someone else is using the Queen's seal to sponsor them."

"Either way, we'll have to address The Majesty." Ciel finished for him.

* * *

***Author dislikes Mary Sues. Author creates a Mary Sue in fanfiction. Author kills off Mary Sue.***


	9. Traces and Tales

"Capital of South Africa?" Sebastian asked.

"Pretoria." Ciel recited.

"Egypt?"

"Cairo."

"Xanadu?"

"…."

"Only teasing." The demon answered.

Ciel huffed, half looking at his world map and half studying the papers found from the Bercham house. He had various other search the house in more detail and a dozen literates to study every book in the library for any clues. He pulled one out and showed it to Sebastian.

"Look, this sign matches the one on the door yesterday, near the crest of the Rouge-Gorges."

Sebastian accepted it to analyze, his eyes narrowing.

"It seems that someone was trying to summon a demon. This pentacle is one of the first steps, yet enough to send an angel into a state of shock."

Ciel whole body tightened and his eye widened.

"A demon…summon…like you? But why at our estate?"

Sebastian shook his head, returning the paper to the desk.

"Summoning a high spirit of hell is no easy task. What you went through to meet me was just…"

He chuckled.

"I am but a lesser demon. If one of the 71 greater spirits came here…"

Ciel rested his head in his hands, a bit amused by the thought.

"So the tiny Chihuahua still needs to heel to the bigger dogs. Keep her busy, will you? It's best if she doesn't remember."

"Comoros."

"Moroni."

"Seychelles."

"Victoria."

* * *

Merianna was bed-ridden the night, waking up with a shaky head and confusion. Meirin helped her up and asked her if she remembered what happened last night. Merianna couldn't remember, hazily replying that she was probably doing her chores as usual. Meirin was told not to remind her, just in case the memory caused her to faint again. Finnian stayed silent about the whole ordeal, only reporting to Sebastian and Ciel directly. None of the servants could coax the story out from him.

Merianna seemed fine with no injuries and no memories. She continued going about her life, humming as she was sweeping the stairs. It was Ciel's study time, and no one was allowed to interrupt the lesson. The servants were usually together in the parlour playing some games, but today it seemed that everyone was too busy. Finnian was washing the door, and hurried away when she approached. She was puzzled, looking at the double doors. There was nothing there to clean and the servants didn't need to wash them.

Even stranger was that Sebastian was the one going with Merianna to go buying the daily ingredients. Normally it would just be Meirin and Tanaka. Merianna dismissed it as a trial set by Ciel to test her. She could cooperate. She could cooperate…for a while anyways. After writing down the various food items that Bard needed, she stuffed the list into her pocket. Sebastian didn't seem to entertain the idea well either, plastering on a fake smile to greet her, only to remind her: "What good is a Phantomhive servant if they can't commit to memory a list of ingredients?"

Merianna boarded the carriage and they were on their way. She didn't appreciate the sharp turns and sudden stops, blamed on whatever small and nonsensical creature that suddenly ran across the road. (Pangolins don't even live in Europe! she cried) She clambered out once they found somewhere to leave the carriage and took out the list of ingredients. In order for the peace to be kept, they split the money and split the ingredients, going their separate ways. Of course, Sebastian didn't need to copy down his list of ingredients.

The demon disappeared into the crowd, and she went into the opposite direction. She dug in her pocket for the shopping list when she took out another piece of paper. She tilted her head. When did she receive this? She opened it and looked at what was written inside. It was definitely not a shopping list, but a threat.

"Bring none with you. Enter the abandoned mill near the edge of the hills. We have picking lock boy. He will be red throat at sunset."

She gasped, almost dropping the note. Her hands grew clammy and her eyes darted around. When was this sent? How did it get into her pocket? The piece of paper seemed familiar in her hands, the words seemed to echo in her head, but where did it come from? Red throat…Rouge Gorges…It was them again. She reread the entire note again and again, going over the details. The abandoned mill, yes, she knew where that was. Back when she was young, it was still working. She knew the way. Yes. She could make it. If she went now, she would have time.

Pick lock boy. Pick lock boy. That was definitely Jake. She muttered to herself and pulled up her skirts to start running. She weaved among the bustling crowds with her ghostly light steps. She took off the familiar boot off the wooden board before squeezing herself down the shaft. Inside, she called her friend's name, but there was no reply. Panicking, she grabbed the note again from her pocket and drew out the _Death _card, calling up the two black birds.

Despite their efforts, they could not find Jake. He was nowhere near any paper material that they could reach. She snapped the card back into her drawstring pouch and clambered back out from the hideout. The next place he could be would be the old tavern. Although the tavern owners were free from any thief gang offering them "protection", they treated Merianna and Jake, who now had respectable jobs-and money- as any other customer. Jake was not their either. Just as she whipped her body around to try other random places, a strong hand grabbed her arm.

"Where are you going? We haven't finished shopping yet."

It was Sebastian, holding a full paper bag and smiling cockily.

"Sebastian! L-Let me go! I have somewhere I need to go. Right now!" she urged.

"**We haven't finished shopping.**" He repeated.

"Sebastian!"

He only smiled in reply, leaning in close to her ear.

"It doesn't matter, Merianna. The note said 'he will be red throat at sunset', right? It doesn't matter. He already is."

She jerked away from him, eyes demanding an answer, mouth quivering too much to ask.

"What we found out yesterday was that every member of the Rouge-Gorges is given a silver gun. Didn't you talk to Snake about his trip in France? Hawkins had a silver gun. Do you know what else we found? We found their motive."

Merianna shut her hands over her ears. Sebastian chuckled at how childish she was being. Her hands wouldn't be able to block out all sound.

"They're after you, Merianna. Whoever it is, they're after an angel. Jake is on their side. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he was actually the leader."

"You're lying." She choked out.

The demon reeled back to view the chaos he created, taking out a pocketwatch and checking the time calmly. The best seeds to sow were of chaos and dissent, only now he had to wait to see what she would do. Even though his master advised him not to make her remember, he only passed on the message and updated her with their crime wave case. And of course, only he and Ciel knew that Jake was acting as a double agent. Sebastian "forgot" that fact just now. As if nothing happened, he chided her again for being so slow in gathering the ingredients.

"In your absence, I've gathered everything necessary. Next time, I advise you to take your job seriously. Shall we go to the carriage now?"

"I'll walk back myself." She spat.

Sebastian smiled. His master had seen through that, and ordered him to make sure she didn't run away. He was less than pleased when he heard this order, but now that she was being pulled back _forcefully_, he began to enjoy his job. He grabbed her arm and swung her over his shoulder, carrying the ingredients with more care than her. Her adamant refusal caused a commotion, but he quickly dispelled it by his good looks, charms and made-up profession of asylum-escapee-capturer-person-warden.

"This is what the Young Master ordered." He chanted, drilling it into her head.

* * *

Sebastian was disappointed at dinner. The worry was visible on her face, yet she stayed quiet and calm during the courses. It would have been better if she begged Ciel to help her go rescue the boy, or maybe escape on her own to get punished later. He wondered if the boy didn't matter anymore to her. Higher beings frequently grew bored of their involvement in mortal lives. She stayed quiet, even when Ciel told her that he, Sebastian and she were going to drop Elizabeth back home. Sebastian was disappointed in the lack of drama and chaos.

Merianna sat in the seat beside Sebastian, leaving the carriage for the two nobles. Sebastian still had to keep his eye on her, although if she suddenly bolted off the carriage, he wouldn't stop the horses from trampling her down. He needed something to poke at her, something that would push her buttons.

"It's a cold night." He commented. "They say that red sunsets bring cold nights."

She affirmed with a 'hmmm.', but no other reaction. How long was she going to stay calm like this? Her eyes seemed dazed, gazing into a world far, far away. It worried Sebastian that she had something up her sleeve that put her in such a calm state. If he could, he would've jolted her awake with the carriage, but he couldn't risk hurting the nobles inside. They dropped Elizabeth back at her house and with her family. They all crowded Ciel, some questioning if he treated Elizabeth well, and other members praising him. They offered him a cup of tea inside, but it was late and he insisted on getting back home. The servants could tell by his drooping eyes and slurry movements that it was past his bedtime now. They said their goodbyes and Ciel was back in the carriage, dozing off. Sebastian covered the boy with his suit, tucking him in.

"I thought you said it was cold." Merianna said, watching him take the reins.

"Demons don't feel the cold." He replied.

He saw her face lower and brow deepen. What he didn't see was the piano wire stretched on the road. The glare of it didn't catch his eyes until too late, and even though he pulled back on the reins, the horses couldn't stop themselves in time. The stallions tripped, the carriage slamming into them and launching the servants out. Ciel, trapped inside, was jostled around. Quickly, Sebastian took out his knives and cut the carriage in half to get Ciel out. The frantic horses ran off along the road, dragging pieces of the carriage with them. The rest of it was broken, a wheel still spinning uselessly on the axle.

Merianna landed a few metres away from the crash site, struggling to her feet after sustaining injuries. A few cloaked figures rushed towards the carriage, throwing something. She heard glass breaking by the time she drew out her cards. She couldn't see where anyone was until the carriage burst into fire. She let out a cry, which alerted them of her, as if her white hair didn't already. Just as she was about to release her cards, a heavy weight fell onto her. Someone knocked her down and was grabbing her arms behind her.

"We've got it! We've got it!" she heard.

She struggled and screamed, trying to kick him off. A silver knife suddenly glinted and implanted itself in the man. She heard a grunt as her arms were released and the weight lifted. She quickly got up, hearing more grunts and moans in the darkness. Another person suddenly launched themselves at her, but she reacted by letting her wings out and flapping, starting to fly up. It made her more visible, but they couldn't reach her at least.

Up in the air, she had to keep alight, and heard voices below her. Her eyes started to adjust, counting at least 30 cloaked figures scrambling around the forest. She spotted knives being sent out from the top of a tree to hit the men closest. She didn't spot the ones just below her throwing the weighted net.

Panicky, scared and worried, she couldn't think straight when she was suddenly caught like a fish. She grabbed the ropes and tried to fly upwards, but the net restrained the wing beats and the force of a thousand people seemed to be dragging her towards the earth. She yelped and kicked when she landed, and a million hands seemed to be reaching at her. There were gun shots and the sound of Sebastian's knives. She still struggled getting out her cards from the pack, but a hand suddenly grabbed the bag. She cried out and clung to them, trying to keep them close to her, begging them not to take them away from her.

"No! Please don't! No! Noo! Don't take them!" she pleaded.

They were wrung away from her, through the net and into the darkness. She kept crying and struggling to rip a hole in the net. She heard Ciel's voice somewhere, followed by the crack of a whip and the neighing of horses. She felt the ground underneath her start to move, taking her and the net with it. The rocks and debris on the ground became razor sharp as she was dragged along the ground; she felt every bump and screamed out for anyone. Between the cuts, bruises and horrible lacerations, her conscious was fading, only hearing the voices of Ciel and Sebastian getting farther and farther away.

* * *

Ciel had to summon his servants up to his office to tell them about the night before. Even worse was breaking the news of Merianna. They all gasped. He should have seen this coming, not just their reaction, but the ambush in general. For some reason, they were after an angel, or a high class demon. It seemed that they switched from stealing items to stealing divine beings. Their methods and objectives were written in notes and hidden bible passages, yet the motive was never said. Ciel decided that he had enough work for the day and a headache was starting to grow in his head. Recently, all his cases and missions from the Queen were connected to the Rouge-Gorges. The newest one was to investigate various hostage situations. It seemed worse that the ones being kidnapped were not the usual important member to society or rich noble, but servants. Servants from every rich household were missing, and every day, a new ransom note appeared. Despite police efforts, no one ever showed up at the arranged meeting place and time.

At first, the Rouge-Gorges had been little more than an annoyance. There were few cases of them breaking and entering, stealing precious items and reselling them. Now they seemed to have stepped it up (taken flight?) and were now causing mayhem everywhere. Not only did they gain in sheer numbers, but their weaponry was upgraded from knives and ropes to silver guns and hired assassins. Knowing that Rouge-Gorges was simply the French word for "robins" (translation: Red Throats), it was a petty pun on the great Robin Hood, yet it had the morbid imagery of a slit throat dripping with blood. They seemed to be a group of whoever they could pluck off the streets, yet there was a great leader behind them. Ciel flipped through a procedure on a breaking and entering of a rival company's mansion, and was impressed by how thorough and well-planned it was. However, he also remembered how they all ran away into the darkness when the police force arrived. What were they after now, kidnapping servants and not even appearing for the ransom money?

Ciel, not wanting to lose anyone, forbid his servants for going out to search for Merianna. Whoever was behind the disappearances could target them next, and they were safest on their home ground. Unfortunately, his sentiments didn't reach to them as much as they could, and they had to hide their desolate sobbing from him. He sighed and returned to his growing work. He spent time with Elizabeth to return her back to health, and in doing that, sacrificed time to his orders. Now that Elizabeth was gone, he could concentrate. Once he was done his work, he promised, he could send Sebastian out to look for her.

Finnian was spending the entire day outside in the warm sun. There was no trace of any clouds in the sky. He refilled the bird bath after moving it closer to the patio; taking a break to sit on the grass and watched the birds come and go. He always carried a few bird seeds with him, but they were all gone now. Since the invasion, he had been avoiding her, unable to bear the guilt. Now that she was gone, he didn't have to suddenly leave the room or awkwardly excuse himself! But he wished he could have apologized. If anything, at least for making her have to watch. And now he excused himself from the birdbath, unable to take the heat of being near winged beasts.

He re-entered the house and headed straight to the library, thinking that he could drown himself in the memories. While he wanted to spend the time alone there, the other servants were already lounging there.

"Finny…!" Meirin greeted. "…oh…what are you doing here?"

He averted his eyes from her gaze. What would she say if he told her that they had a bit of a conflict? Would she blame him? Bardroy was sitting near the window still, shuffling a few papers in a notebook.

"What's going to happen…to us?" Finny mumbled.

Meirin smiled faintly, trying to lift his spirits.

"We'll just have to wait here." She answered. "Young Master is only looking out for us."

Bardroy called them over, handing a sheet to each. He recognized Merianna's writing, since she was the one writing the shopping lists, and in paper were several fairy tales concerning them. Not only concerning them, _about _them.

* * *

_There exists a certain spirit which cannot be summoned, cannot be invoked. Not only must you welcome one spirit, but two. You never see pots move, never see the fire stoked and your food stock will never decrease in its presence. It matters not if your kitchen is well stocked, containing the finest ingredients or if it's just a stove stuffed with straw. The kitchen fairy and his dragon companion will watch over you._

(Kitchen Fairy?! Bardroy almost choked)

_The kitchen fairy has the ability to grant meals in 6 seconds flat. He never wastes so much as a potato peel and always adds magic to his meals to bring out every flavour. He reigns over a fiery hot-tempered dragon, although he isn't always in control. Most of the time, the dragon is the one spreading his magic on the dishes. He is a jealous dragon, so his magic hides away the flavouring of the meal in bad smoke. _

_If your kindly ask for your favourite pie, the kitchen fairy will prepare it. You should always watch the fairy, just in case the dragon tries to take control again. To beat back the dragon, should it appear, you have to arm the fairy with a toothpick or something similar. Once the dragon finds something to chew on, he'll calm and rest again, leaving the fairy to continue cooking. _

_The kitchen fairy will always stay in the kitchen. He won't intrude onto any other rooms in the house. If you treat him right, neither will the dragon. _

* * *

_Have you ever heard the sounds of a sweeping broom or water running, only to turn and see no one? Don't turn so fast, you may scare the brownie. Brownies don't work well when they are being carefully watched and scrutinize, so avoid staring. They're prone to dropping dishes and bad aim when being watched. However, if you treat them nicely, no mouse will ever find its way into your house, your house be cleaned and chores left finished will be done by the next morning. _

(Meirin pushed her glasses up with pride)

_If this brownie resides in your house, all your horses will be well taken care of. Ticks and fleas are hardly ever a problem because this brownie can drive them all away. All vermin and pests will be repelled and unable to enter the house. Thieves as well as vandals won't be able to enter either, as any house under their protection is under their watchful eye. This brownie can be everywhere at once, and once they finish one task, hurry to finish the next. It's bad luck to interrupt the brownie, except to offer help. _

_The brownie gets flustered easily, so one should not openly thank the fairy, but in libation or any other offering. Brownies dislike when their libation is referred to as "payment", as they are humble spirits. Clothing should not be given either, but glasses are accepted. In fact, this brownie will accept them with gratitude. When you are weary with work or have many worries heavy on you, you can talk to the brownie. The brownie will listen, a bell suddenly ringing or the sound of water dripping is its response that it is listening to your problems. It will help you whenever it can, or at least console you. _

* * *

_No matter how many walls are in your house, you can't contain this nature spirit. Even if you trapped it in a glass jar in the deepest cellar of your house, it can break its way out. You shouldn't try to trap it anyways. The pixie wears little, but it is modest. The best way to appeal to them is a little house outside: a fairy house made of stone. They can tend to your garden and flowers, even on rainy days. Sometimes you have to leave some water for them as they tend to forget to drink. But in return, your crops will grow better and the harvest will take less time- perhaps its even done by the time you arrive._

_The pixie dislikes leaving the property and its home. Once they have moved in, they will almost never leave unless they are forced out or the house itself is destroyed. The pixie will sometimes move things around and play harmless pranks on the household for its own amusement. It's important to play along so as not to offend them. One of its favourite pranks is blowing your hair in your face and making the breeze rise up to blow your hat away. And while it cannot make your harvest grow in one day, it will make it bountiful. Patience is key, as with growing plants. _

_Sometimes you will be able to glimpse a pixie, if you should chance upon it. It will treat you respectfully, unless you mean harm to the house. As a guest, you too must play along with the pranks and tricks. A pixie can not be lured or summoned; it chooses where it will live based on its own whims and wants. _

* * *

"Snake! Snake!" the three of them called.

They almost ran into him at the speed they were going, shoving the notebook under his nose. He calmed them as they urged him to read something in the pages. He took a seat in the dining room to read it while Meirin went to go fetch Tanaka.

_There's a nisse that lives under the floors of this house, and it's a sign of good luck. A nisse will protect the household, especially during night. Whenever a family member goes out, hope for the nisse to follow and watch over them. Sometimes small children will cry because of his eyes that glow in the dark, but as they grow up, they will learn to accept the nisse. Allow it into your underground storehouse or cellar, as it will defend it. There's no need to question a nisse. It can transform into a snake and wrap itself around your gold and valuable against intruders and robbery. In order to attract a nisse, you should give it good food and a fire to warm itself by. _

Snake stopped here and thought about it. The others looked at him with large expectant smiles. He continued reading it.

_It's bad luck to offend a nisse, as they have a poisonous bite. If you spill something on the floor, it's important to warn the nisse living under the house. It can also turn people into birds and rats to eat if it is angered. In order to apologize, it was best to prepare the nisse's favourite food and leave it there for it to eat. It is also wise to give it gifts on the holidays. If a nisse takes residence in your home, you should keep it. The nisse never goes out into the rain, as it will hide itself deep underground. During the winter seasons, you should give it some clothing for it to keep warm._

_Sometimes the nisse leave behind their leather stockings. It's important to return them to the nisse. It's bad luck to keep them for yourself._

Snake stopped again; something fell out of the notebook. He bent over and picked up a shed snakeskin that, judging from the size, belonged to Dan.

"Leather…stockings…" he muttered with unbelief. "She thinks these are stockings…"

* * *

_Sometimes during the night, an all-fur will be wandering your house. There are two ways you can see an all-fur. In the first, when the house is being treated poorly and the animals are not being fed, it wears a cloak made of all kinds of fur. The second, when the house is well taken care of and all the children are well behaved, the all-fur looks like a shining white spirit. In times of danger, one can always rely on the all-fur to take care of the house. If there is a leak somewhere, the all-fur will repair it, or at the least, warn you of it. The all-fur can shape-shift into common objects such as teapots and pillows, so it's very hard to catch sight of it when it blends into the background._

* * *

Snake suddenly closed the book, saying that he was being called. He handed the book back to the servants and told them that it was good writing.

"The Harrier man is back." Bronte hissed in his ear.

Snake stood up and the snake led him around the house. He followed, nearly colliding into corners when they turned sharply at corners. He stomped down the stairs to the servants' quarters, Dan the snake peeking out from underneath his hair. He was led to the kitchen and out the door to where the well was. And, just as his snakes had sensed, the man in a black trench coat grimaced at them. He was clutching his left arm which was bent in all the wrong places.

"Y-You!" he growled, more disappointed than surprised.

Snake had the most neutral expression ever. He wasn't sure whether or not this man was even allowed on the property or not. Nevertheless, he moved out of the way for him to enter into the servants' kitchen. Jake limped in and his eyes darted around the room.

"I need Merianna's trinket! It's somewhere here!"

"What do you know about her? She's gone missing…says Wordsworth"

His arm was dripping blood everywhere, although he unlatched his other to steady himself on the wall.

"I have to bring it bac-back! Bring it back! Where is it?"

Snake didn't know how to deal with him, remembering the short fuse and sudden rage he had seen before in France. He trailed after Jake, ready to strike if anything went awry.

"N-No! There's no time! If I –arrrhhh! If I don't get back in time, they're going to tear her apart! Let me –aaarh! Where is it?" he spat.

"H-Her room's the second! On the right!" one of his snakes whispered to him.

When Snake relayed the message, he almost broke the door entering. He saw the white trinket sitting atop the night stand, grabbed it and was on his way out when Snake suddenly slammed his arm across the threshold, barring him from exiting.

"What are you going to do with that?" He asked calmly.

"Listen," Jake started, "I've only managed to get out of there, and if they find out I'm missing who do you think they're going to go after?"

He shook his head and corrected himself.

"No, it's almost like an incentive…in any way, I can't tell you. Don't follow me. I need to get back there."

"Fine." Snake huffed, stepping out of the way.

Jake gave him a silencing glare before stuffing the container into his pocket. He stopped to hold a hand to his broken arm. Snake put both his hands on his shoulders.

"Good luck." He said.

Jake's expression softened. He nodded, turned and set out the door.

"Don't follow me! If I bring anyone back…"

Snake nodded, although Jake's back was towards him. He tucked his hair behind his empty ear, wishing Atwood a safe trip. Not many people could feel the little critter dropped from someone's shoulder to their pocket. Although Jake had warned him not to follow, he didn't address all the snakes in the room.

* * *

_The huldra is a legendary creature that lives somewhere in the forests. Sometimes it is kind to humans, sometimes it is whimsical with whom it interacts with. It takes the form of a simple dairy maid, and the only way to tell it apart is from its tree-hollow back. There's nothing on its back. There's nothing on its back at all, and it will always try to hide this fact from you. There are tales where the huldra makes babies with men after luring them into the forest, only to leave the child with the father. Most times, the father is unaware of who gave them the baby. Sometimes the huldra makes the father marry her before leaving. People aren't sure why. A huldra is unable to keep its immortality when it enters a church. When they are married in a church, a huldra will lose its charms and become twisted, often lashing out at their husbands and church in wrath. If a huldra is treated badly, it can pick up a burning-red horseshoe and straighten it. A huldra has immense strength, even when in a church, and it will never lose this power. _


	10. Deus and the Dead

**A/N: Writing at 1 o clock in the morning...perhaps not the best time for grammar. Chapter to be edited after =.=;;;**

When Merianna woke up, she felt a warm and heavy thing sitting on her chest. She saw the glowing spirit of _Dris-Nafuru _meditating whilst sitting on her. A few moments after opening her eyes, she blinked, and all there was on her chest was a single tarot card. She slowly sat up, her body sore everywhere. She held The Sun close to her chest, which was now devoid of any clothing at all. Shivering, she looked around the small room. Room was an exaggeration. It was a tiny stone walled prison with a straw covered wooden board for a bed. The only warmth was from the tarot card, although it was now cool and her feet were starting to feel the cold stone. Within two steps she was at the iron bars and grasped them in her hands, looking side to side to see if anyone could answer her call. No one was there, but she called out anyways.

In front of her was a congruent prison. To her left and right were also the same prisons, except devoid of any wooden board and straw. She looked at the opposite prison a bit more closely. That prison had a wide hole near the top, letting in a bit of sunlight. She could even hear the faint sounds of birds outside, the scream of a hawk, to be exact. If she had been in that other cell, she could've slipped out. She wondered if there was someone else who was trapped here. There were signs of broken rubble and rocks around the hole, as well as a bit of blood drying on the stones. She grimaced at the sight.

She remembered the blood staining everything red and the rocks cutting her along the road. That's right; she was being dragged along the earth in a net. The sudden realization made her jump back from the iron bars, clutching the card tighter to her chest. Where were her other cards? She searched the corners of the small prison, and in desperation, combed through the straw with her bare hands. There was nothing there. There was only The Sun, the wooden board, the straw, and the stone walls. She started running her hands along the stones, trying to see if there was a weak spot in any of them. There wasn't. Not only was the fear growing inside her, but also the cold she was feeling from having no clothing on. She shivered. Who in their right minds had to undress her and put her in this cramped place?

She gave up, sat down near the iron bars and waited. She called out a few 'hellos' to the air, but her voice was parched from no water. There was little her friend could do except heal her if she was wounded. There was absolutely no lock on the bars. She wondered how she was even put there in the first place. There were just iron bars vertically implanted into the ground. They would not move, and unlike most escape games, no random pressing of buttons would release her. She sat there and waited. Not just waited, but rotted. There was simply nothing there to entertain her or stimulate her brain.

Merianna heard the sound of a clop-clop-clop on the stones. She panicked and shuffled to the far right corner, squishing herself against it to get away from the iron bars and also to cover her shame. What came into view was none other than the Queen's butler, a face she remembered clearly, although his name slipped her mind at the moment. He was clad in purple and white the last time, but now he wore a black suit over a soft orange shirt and scarf. It reminded her of…

"My, my. You do look cold." He commented.

A robin.

She didn't want to answer. Whether she was shaking because of the cold or from how pathetic she felt, she wasn't sure. If she had the ability to change genders like he had, she would have gladly done so. For now, she stayed huddled in the corner, not daring to meet his eyes.

"I brought something for you to wear, Mademoiselle."

He held out a white cloth, neatly folded, through the bars. She stared at it, and then to him. She could tell that from his higher tone of voice that he was trying to be polite. She could tell from her previous experiences that when he wasn't trying to be polite, his voice sounded like metal crashing into squawking crows. He held it too far away from her corner. She would have to get up to retrieve it. The idea didn't dance around in her head.

"It's…too far…I can't…reach it…" she mumbled.

"What's that?" He asked, "Speak up."

She repeated, in a bit stronger voice. Her face was flushing, a very bad sign. Not that there was much to look at, but she would have to expose herself to reach out for the clothing and to a man too!

"Well, why can't you? I'm offering it to you to wear. Only you need to come over and take it."

Merianna felt her ears growing red and she shook her head, wrapping her arms around her tighter.

"You'll…you'll see…" she squeaked. "Y-You'll see me…!"

The angel laughed with a bit of cruelty and surprise mixed into his voice.

"Well, what about in this form then?" she asked, suddenly changing her form.

It happened in the blink of an eye that the angel in front of her was now a female. Even then, Merianna was thinking twice. She stayed quiet, unable to be reassured. The angel gave off a huff of air, placed it on the ground and turned around. Merianna held her breath when she did, expecting a string of anger at her about the prisoner-that-maybe-escaped-through-the-hole. Instead, the angel smirked as if she were amused by the idea. Maybe it was just there to give Merianna false hope.

"I'll be going now. You should fix yourself for the grand ceremony."

She heard the click-click-click of shoes on stones grow fainter and fainter. It was only when there were a few minutes of silence did she relax and stared at the clothing. What kind of ceremony would it be? She snatched up the clothing before retreating back into the corner. She was so embarrassed! To be naked in front of a man was one thing, to have to dress in front of a man was another entirely! Even if that man could turn into a woman, it made her uncomfortable to say the least. It was nothing more than a pearl-white dress with thin straps to hold it together. It was long enough to cover her ankles, an acceptable length. She had to lift it a bit to move around, which she felt more liberated to do now that she had clothing. Her hair was greasy, and the loose strands irritated her face, so she did as best she could to braid it in a single braid, but without a ribbon or elastic, it didn't hold very well. Like this, she waited for something to happen.

And it's always careful what you wish for.

A troop of indistinguishable people wrapped in black suddenly swiped their hands along the bars and they instantly disappeared. Or perhaps the bars were never there in the first place. They stepped towards Merianna in her tiny cell and without answering her questions or caring how much she resisted. They hoisted her up to her feet, forcefully linked her arms with theirs and marched out the prison. Her feet had to walk themselves, as dragging them along only hurt them even more. She pestered them with questions and tried to wriggle out, but they were like golems: silent and stoic. She screamed and kicked, all the way up to the main floor. She registered the numerous benches and a large chandelier. There were stained glass windows where light filtered through. She tried to remember what this place was. Sitting in the wooden benches were people. They all wore black, but with splashes of red or orange. Some wore orange scarves or neckties, while others had a red handkerchief out of their pocket or red ribbons.

She fell silent when all their eyes fell on her. Or not on her, but what lay before her. There was a large t-shaped piece of wood. She was confused until the figures holding her suddenly dropped her, grabbing and tying her limbs with rope. By now she was too overwhelmed and tired to fight back. She stood there, demanding answers while she suffered from rope burn and humiliation. The people all stared at her with blank faces. She wondered if they were all afflicted with something or not. She blinked. There was an adult woman near the front that she recognized. She was a servant at the Cordon house. Having been kidnapped by the Rouge-Gorges, Merianna recognize her face on the newspapers she had to deliver to Ciel each morning. What was she doing here?

The black people finished restraining her, and moved away. Her breathing grew deeper and more rapid, not knowing what to expect. There was an unbearable silence that hung in the air.

Someone stood behind her, holding her head forward. The voice belonged to the Queen's butler, again here to humiliate her.

"Here we have a young angel."

Merianna held her breath. How could he have so easily revealed her nature? Even more shocking was the stillness of the room. She didn't hear so much as a murmur of gossip or a shoe shuffling.

"Why don't you show us your wings?" he said lightly.

She felt like she had to say something. Maybe go on a rant.

"No."

She guessed not. Her legs started trembling. She felt the weight lighten on her legs when the butler came into her view. He bent down to whisper to her ear.

"Do you remember those little boys running all over the church? Do you remember how they all stopped?"

A church, yes that was what the place was called. He moved back to watch her reaction.

She started screaming.

"No! No! You wouldn't! They weren't…! They weren't! You can't!"

She remembered too clearly the last time she was in this wretched place. The first time she had ever seen cinematic records. The last time she had seen Ashe, the wicked angel. Seeing how many people were gathered there, he must be planning another attempt at…whatever he was trying to do. She kept screaming and begging him to stop, to have pity on people, to let her go and to let all these people go.

"You're killing them! You're going to kill all of them! You can't do that!" was among some of the things she screamed out.

His face was contorted into a strange expression of pleasure and disgust. None of the people reacted. They simply watched.

"And why is that? Don't you know that all these humans here want nothing but to satisfy their own greed? Their own filthy needs and wants?"

She was crying now, and with no way to stop herself as the tears trickled down the side of her face and dripped off her chin. Her arms were tied alongside her, and were sore from being uselessly there.

"Mama…Mama said to…to alwa-way-ways pity humans! They-They don't kn-kn-know any better! Wha-Whatever they do…they don't know…" she trailed off.

To this, the angel laughed hoarsely, bent over to clutch his sides from laughing so much and slammed his hand down on her mouth. Not only was she herself being ridiculed, but the ideals of her mother were too. His gloved hand was salty to taste and her cheeks stung.

"What about this human then?" he said, his voice suddenly flipping to his impolite tone.

They brought in the promised lock pick boy, who was not only tied down, but gagged. His arm was broken in all the wrong places, soaked with blood. He tried to wiggle his golem-capturers off, but they held still. They sat him down on one of the empty wooden benches. The sight of him only caused her to start crying even more. Surely he too, would remember the church incident. Everyone they knew was slain there, their only family, and all they could do was to burn the entire building down to give them proper burial rites. She turned her head away from him.

"Do you want to repent your sins?" Ashe asked, directing his question to Jake.

The golem-people ripped the cloth around his mouth. His lip was cut and there were red marks where the cloth had been tied too tightly. Where there were daggers in one's tongue, they took shape in his eyes.

"What sins?" He answered.

Merianna shut her eyes. She didn't want to see what was happening. In the darkness of her mind, she could only hear the dialogue between them.

"Theft, arson, excess of gin, blasphemy, envy, wrath, perjury, sacrilege! Just to name a few" Ashe's voice yelled accusingly.

She could tell that those words stung, even if she didn't know half of them. She wished that Jake would just accept it. If he could keep his mouth shut and his temper down, maybe he would get out unscathed.

"Are you calling me a fucking cur?" he retorted.

"Malediction! Vulgarity! Avidity! Rage! Self-indulgence!" Ashe went on, "Don't you fear the punishment of God?!"

There were murmurs amongst the people, the first sound Merianna had heard from them. She opened her eyes, where Ashe was gesturing an open hand to her. Certainly she wasn't this "God" person. She had never been called that. Only judges, masters and policemen gave punishments.

"Desecration of an angel's holiness!" Ashe added, shaking his hand for emphasis.

Merianna wasn't sure what was going on anymore. She could hear her heart she supposed to say something? How could she intervene?

Suddenly, a snake shot out at Ashe with its jaws wide open. Ashe reeled back with a shriek, screeching at the little reptile. Merianna's eyes widened. It looked familiar, and it hissed as it backed away. Ashe's reaction was just like hers when she had first seen snakes. Angels must have had some inborn hate of snakes, as Ashe did nothing about it. The snake managed to slip out, a miracle. Jake, however, burst out in taunting laughter, calling the man a coward and a wuss. It was a sign of hope for Merianna, that little snake. Perhaps it was a sign of Snake himself or her master coming to rescue her. Just as she opened her mouth, something silver crunched into Jake's hand and she saw blood starting to drip from where he sat. He howled in pain and she saw two fingers from his hand fall and hit the floor. He didn't stop crying out in pain.

"You bastard! You motherfucker!" Jake spat, trying to hold his bloody hand. "I'll fuckin' kill you!"

He was missing the ring and pinky finger from his left hand. He continued screaming out insults and swears.

"So, Miss Angel, how do you judge this sinner?"

"I-I don't! I don't!" she stuttered, unable to think straight. "No, don't do this Ashe! He's done nothing wrong! Why are you doing this?"

He locked her gaze with his steely eyes.

"You are a holy being, Merianna. It's time that you acted like it."

She shook her head, unable to stop crying. Not only could she not stop the tears, she couldn't stop her shallow breathing or the urchin stuck in her throat. Why was everything so dependant on being "holy"?

_What am I doing wrong? Why am I holy? What is being holy?_

"No, no! I'll stop being _holy_. I won't be _holy_ anymore! Just let him live, Ashe! Let him live!" she begged. "I won't…I won't be _holy_ anymore…I'll stop."

Just to show she meant it, she did as he originally wanted. With a chorus of cracking noises, she unfurled her wings. The ropes didn't seem to have stopped them from unfolding to their full length. She wondered what kind of reaction the people would have. She heard them, all of them. It started out small with wonder, then she heard yelling and all whispered became loud and incomprehensible. She hoped that at least this would stop Ashe from torturing Jake.

"This, ladies and gentlemen, is what happens when an angel falls in love with humanity." Ashe announced. "This **monstrosity** of a creation."

Merianna felt the need to speak up. It was now or never.

"What's wrong with that?" she pleaded. "Am I not allowed to love him?"

Ashe's eyes were shot with a glare of fury. He grabbed Jake's head.

"And do you, abhorrent human, love this angel?"

For whatever reason, he gave a small laugh, bowing his head down. He answered in a small affirmative.

Like a gun shot announces the start of a marathon, all the black clad Robins stood up from their benches and formed a mob that was rushing at Merianna. They were docile and silent before, but now they seemed hungry. Their hands were grabbing at her wings. She found that she couldn't pull them back into herself as they stretched them, pulled them out of their sockets, and started ripping at the feathers. There was immense pain when they grabbed handfuls and tore them out. She wasn't sure how long she had been screaming. The chaos had ripped the ropes free, but her arms and legs were still being held down. She twisted on the floor, trying to get away.

"That's it, everyone! If you clean this angel up into how all angels should be, all your sins will be washed away! Servants will now become serfs, prisoners to rich, sinners to the devoted! Purge all your sins onto this monstrosity and **tear** **every last **_**feather! Clean this angel of all the sins humanity has put upon-!**_"

Whereas Merianna had pulled two feathers off as generosity to Elizabeth, she suffered stinging in her wing and back. Now it was like they were clawing into her and raking out her blood. She saw them claw for more with their bloody hands. Their eyes showed nothing but animalistic instinct and mass hysteria. The groaning made her cry out. But it was the rawness of human nature scared her the most.

She wondered what her mother had felt, being…

The crowd suddenly backed away, pure white feathers stuck to them with blood. Merianna lay there, unable to move without hurting so much. Her breathing was heavy and quivering. She wished that they could have just ripped the whole wing off instead of torturing her so. She felt herself being picked up; her arms stretched out and tied to the t-shaped wood. It was a cross, she remembered, the special shape that people sometimes carried and held in their hands when they needed strength. What good would it be to be _tied_ to it? Her clothing was ripped, but still enough to cover her body. She didn't want to do anything anymore. She did not resist. Her eyes glanced at herself. Her wings were blood red and the feathers that were left hung there, swaying as she moved painfully. It was a sorry sight that all four wings were in such a wretched state.

"Repent!" she heard millions of voices yell.

"I'm SORRY!" she screamed out hoarsely. "I'M SORRY! PLEASE!...PLEASE…No more…"

There was immense pain everywhere; she could hardly move.

"I don't want to…live anymore…I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I don't-I don't want to be bad anymore…"

She heard something rip. Her eyes were wide when she saw _The Chariot _in two pieces on the ground. Not only that, but the two sphinx roared in pain before they fell to the ground, writhing as their torso ripped open. There was a Robin who was holding the deck of cards out in his palms, as if offering them to Ashe. Ashe was nonchalantly ripping them slowly, his face as cold as the rest of the world. He took another card in his hands, _The Wheel of Fortune_. Behind him, she saw her long time friend trying to grab at Ashe's coat. None of his efforts worked, as his fingers slipped right through the being.

"No, Stop! Please! Ashe! Those are my mother's! Those are my friends! You're hurting them!"

Ashe's gaze hardened onto her, immune to compassion. He took it in his hands and tore it down the centre. Behind him, Kerei's face was contorted in pain, but only Merianna could see. Kerei buried his tiny face in his hands, touching an imaginary wound. Merianna saw a break in his body, right along his centre. She watched as she saw him screaming, split in half, and disappear into forever. Now she was screaming all over again. She tried to move anything, even beating her wings as if they would function again.

He kept picking the cards apart. The more she screamed and begged, the tinier pieces he made. Her eyes were stinging, and she closed them to beg forgiveness for her friends. _Dris-Satu_, _Rian_, _Vit_, _Torez_, _Nafuru_, _Vaint_- they all said their goodbyes to her before they were gone forever, killed in a violent massacre. She couldn't bear to see every part of them being ripped apart. Only she could hear them scream.

When she opened her eyes again, Ashe was standing in front of her. He threw the rest of the cards in her face, pieces raining down. He had the card of The High Priestess, or the top parts of it, and pressed it right at the bridge of her nose, forcing her to acknowledge its destroyed state. How hard he pressed it didn't matter, all she saw was the dismembered and bleeding head of Du floating beside Ashe. She fell silent, traumatized to the point where her body fell limp, her voice had gone away and her mind locking itself in to scream.

"Well?" He hissed, "**Do something** worthy of making you and angel."

He threw the card to the side and grabbed The Hanged Man, readying his hands to rip it in half.

"Or so help me, I will kill you off with the rest of the scum here."

Deus was telling her that she would be alright. Deus told her to shut her eyes and to ignore what came next. She wondered if he was Death in disguise. She wished not only for her own death, but the death of every sinner that pulled out her feathers. She wanted revenge for what they had done to her, she wanted revenge for the friends that Ashe had killed and everyone would suffer. She wanted everyone to look at her and fear her, fear her power and fear for their own lives. What she could do to them would guarantee them death. She wanted to make them repent, make them beg for mercy and make them suffer her wrath.

"_Why don't you roll over and die?_"

* * *

_Once upon a time, there was a little girl selling tarot card fortunes. _ Deus started. _In order to leave the life of crime and sin, she started to sell them to people to earn an honest living. But the townspeople were all angry with her. They called her a witch, no matter if the fortune she gave was real or not._

"All I wanted was for them to be happy…" she interrupted.

_Hush. Now, they cut her beautiful hair and dragged her around on the streets, pelting her with stones and sticks. They tied her up to a cross and was about to light it on fire. The nobleman there watched, lost interest, and left. The lockpicker arrived only too late to watch as everyone who was there was suddenly hung by ropes that fell from the heavens itself. The lockpicker ran away from seeing such a sight and he swore to never have to see that ever again. The girl woke up, thinking that everyone had fallen asleep, and went on her merry little way. _

"Is that boy…sad now?" she asked.

_How would I know? Dead men tell no tales, especially not when they've been hanged._

* * *

In one moment, Merianna looked like she had given up on living and closed her eyes. She had the scariest look in her eyes. He wondered if she was seeing something horrific behind every rip of a tarot card. The Merianna he knew was compassion and unable to defend herself, perhaps that was what drew him to her. What he saw then was a being so tortured and abused that the only thing that showed on her face was the immense desire to cause suffering. In the next moment, the tarot card rose up from the man's hand and into the air, where it stood still behind the cross Merianna was tied to. Jake had only seen this one other time. The white haired man suddenly grew wings, to the surprise of everyone in the room. He shot out through the glass windows, leaving just in the nick of time. There was no escape left, not when the god in the cards took over. Jake could only shake his head limply.

"Why, Merianna. _Why-?_"

Those were his last words before a hundred or so nooses fell from the sky. The nooses were the final execution and not even Jake could escape this time.

* * *

When Merianna woke up, she was lying on the tiled ground. To her left, she saw some shards of coloured glass. She rubbed her eyes, as if she woke up from a strange slumber. The small dress she had on had splotches of blood. The scene jolted her awake. There were dead bodies everywhere. Their necks were bent, either down to their cheek or left them exposed. She grabbed her head. The only time Deus took over was when she really was in danger. She could not stop him, he could not stop her.

"No! NO! NOO! I DIDN'T WANT THIS, DEUS!"

She stopped digging her nails into her head and instead slammed her palms to the ground. She kept slamming his palms to the ground until they started bleeding. When they hurt too much, she held them to her face to try to hide how red her face was getting. She felt the need to bite something, and resulted in her fingers. She bit too hard too fast, and her ring finger came off. She was in too much pain to really care. It was then that the silence struck her. Why was she the only voice in the room?

"Nooo…!" she croaked, seizing her throat with one hand and the other helping her stand up.

She stumbled on one leg that was twisted in the feather-tearing frenzy and dragged her useless four wings along the ground. She kept going until she fell upon Jake's body, wrapping what left of her abnormality around them. She wept on his chest, begging for forgiveness, expressing her sorrow, promising that she would never do it again. He laid still, eyes closed, silent. Merianna begged for him to open his eyes. He had escaped through handcuffs and jails; surely he could easily escape the grasp of Death. Why was he not waking up? She called his name numerous times, shaking his body. No tarot card or angel power could bring him back.

He lay there; sleeping, unmoving, gone forever.

* * *

When the soul reapers arrived, the angel was guarding only one cinematic record. She warned them not to interrupt while she was watching one such. All the others seemed untouched and pure. The soul reapers didn't want to take any chances. They called to her and ordered her to move away from the bodies and cinematic records. She refused, saying that she was protecting the one. The group was a new batch, unaware of how to deal with another being interfering with their job. Most have never even seen an angel before, no less a bloodied, four-winged one. Their supervisor stepped forward, explaining to the poor soul that no matter what, that single soul she was protecting was going straight to hell. Perhaps she shouldn't have done that. The angel's rage was incurred, and she threatened them not to go near.

_No, I can save him from this fate…_

They insisted that she could not. Once they cut his record, there would be no alternative. His past sealed his future.

_Angels have the power to alter cinematic records._

They couldn't stop her in time before she had the cinematic record in her hands. She breathed her story into them, completely rewriting it. Whatever story she had made up for the dead man, the soul reapers didn't like it. The supervisor took out her death scythe and attacked. The angel responded by flourishing her strange wings, but did nothing but defend. Easily, the death scythe cut off the angel's two hands, leaving behind bloody stumps. The next thing to go was the angel's eyesight, as a perfectly aimed shot swiped at her face, creating a gash horizontally across her eyes. The soul reaper was about to deliver the final blow to her heart when the angel dodged blindly, a little white trinket falling from her pocket. The death scythe hit it instead. The soul reapers all took important notes that day. There is nothing a death scythe can't cut. Living things, no matter how white or tiny or trinket-like they were, could stand against it.

Little by little, Jake's cinematic record was being rewritten and his memories were being replaced. But that didn't mean he wasn't able to see what was happening. All the while he saw his spirit rising up from his body, he saw Merianna there, weeping over his body. He saw her fighting against invisible things, saying how she had to protect Jake, even if there was no Jake Hawkins anymore.

_"Before 'er mother died, she called me to her bedside whilst she sent Merianna to fetch water from the water pump outside. S'felt like she wanted to talk to me fer once…and just me. She asked me to keep this littl' box thing…she says it has Merianna's __**halo**__."_

Some other spirit came from the white trinket. He had spent so much time trying to crack the thing open, when suddenly something sharp hit it. It gave out a yelp like a dog and burst out in spirit-stuff. Jake scratched his not-head with his not-hand. The spirit, like his own stuff, had a sort of rolling picture in it. He wanted to stay and see what would happen, but something was sucking him up to the sky. He closed his eyes and left the earth. His cinematic record ended.


	11. Gifts and Guides

**Hey guys! What's the name of Dante's guide in The Divine Comedy?**

**Publius Vergil Maro~! **

**Just thought it was cool to know.**

Merianna and the soul reapers all had to shield their eyes from the blast of light, and none were ready for the screeching that came after. It sounded as if the container had been some living thing, only reacting to being stabbed with a death scythe. What unreeled from it was yet another cinematic record. Merianna could sense it, and she wanted to shield her eyes from it. She didn't want anything more to do with cinematic records, soul reapers, the afterlife or losing any more people….but this one called out to her. She felt a magnetic force that drew her to this record, something that seemed familiar, like a whole finger returned to her after being severed for a couple weeks.

There was her mother, sitting on her bedside. Although Merianna's eyes had been cut and everything seemed a dark blotch of red, she saw her mother's figure as clear as day. Merianna peered in closer upon recognizing her. She reached out for it, calling of for her mother. She saw herself as well, with her hair a shorter length and her body still small and sleek. This was her past, but that only made her feel a stronger longing to approach the record.

* * *

"Merianna, I must speak to you."

"Mamma, why are you speaking in English?" she asked in French. "I can't understand you."

Her mother hesitated.

"It's for you to know later." She replied cryptically in French. "Just listen. And don't fall asleep. You must hear out this story, no matter how little you understand."

The younger Merianna nodded, snuggled into her covers and held her stuffed animals in her arms.

"Once upon a time, there was a land above called Heaven. It's a glorious place, Merianna…! The best wine flows from there and it is always bright. There is no pain there, no suffering. What else is there to do there but sing out in joy and praise the Lord? It's…truly a spectacular place. There is not one place here in this mortal realm that can match its beauty. I'm very sorry to have left it."

Her mother took a break to sighed and rake her hands through her snow-white hair.

"But not everyone there is as holy or dignified as humans think it is. Angels are nothing more but a race to serve and praise God. And what is there to do when an angel is suddenly born with a strange mutation? What happens when God makes a mistake with one of his own creations? Not with man or a frog or a rat, but an angel- that which is supposed to represent heaven in all its goodness?"

Her mother took Merianna's hand and squeezed it tightly, starting to weep a bit.

"My dear child, may you never have to go through this experience." She pleaded. "Angels can be moved to horrible screeching creatures when something goes against their God, no matter what it is. They plead for judgments that will never fall, they call on God for retribution, and they cannot ever learn to accept a being of their kind with four wings instead of two."

She wiped her eyes before resuming. The small child gave a little squeak in response to seeing her mother weeping, but the governess composed herself soon enough.

"I will always remember the day that they cried out to God, having had enough of staring and living with my imperfection. They called out 'God! God! O most divine Lord! What have we done to earn this? This cursed wretch by the holy name of Ulchina surely cannot be what you intended! Is this an insult- a prank done to you by Lucifer? Look how unholy her wings are! Two is the number dictated by your words, how now that she has _four_?!' And so God called me up to him, and although I could not glance at Him through His radiance, he looked kindly upon me."

"He assured me that I am as I am. Humans here think that God is omnipotent, but even he cannot dictate nature and fate. The other angels would hear none of it. They commanded his judgment upon me and so to appease him, he sent me on a quest. To regain my honour and God's favour, I was given an item to deliver to Lucifer in Hell. It was a small pouch, which God warned me not to open. The gates of Heaven were open, but only for me to exit…They will never open for me again."

The lamp light flickered, making the shadows behind them dance on the walls. Ulchina was gazing softly at her child, longing in her eyes. She continued before Merianna felt the onslaught of sleep.

"And all throughout Hell I travelled. I travelled along all the roads and across all the rivers. I've met with every single sinner and every devil. Days do not pass by in those lands. There is only one eternity after another. My journey could not have been measured by how much time passed, only how many experiences I've encountered. Finally, it was Lucifer himself who came to see me. Oh, how deformed and horrible he looked! If he truly was an angel that fell from hell, then it must be a miracle that I am able to look this way. That angel…that angel! Merianna, never trust fallen angels! Merianna, you must refrain from even speaking to one! They will deceive you!"

By now her mother was shouting, and in a language that Merianna didn't comprehend yet. She calmed herself down and calmed her child down as well.

"I had given Lucifer what was required, when he stopped me and accused me of thievery and threatened to tell God what I had done. How was I to know?" she wailed. "I was given a deck of cards to send to Lucifer, and he told me that it had been the wrong ones. I spent a thousand years or more in hell, not as a sinner, but an angel! I was made to remake the cards, peel and dry the colours that were in them, forage the seven seas for the dyes and repaint them into the set that he desired! But oh, Merianna! How I was fooled! Only then when I was done that Lucifer berates me for printing over his cards! I had done nothing but reprint over the correct cards! The cards had been imbued with the powers of Hell and of the higher beings, and so Lucifer throws me out of Hell with the useless things. Unable to return to Heaven and unable to journey back to Hell, I was trapped in the mortal realm."

Her mother held her face in her arms, shook with rage and grief.

"How was I to know? Angels who have never left Heaven have never tasted betrayal and lying. Not only is it devils who cheat and lie, but everything in the mortal realm as well! Lies did not exist in Heaven, never did they exist! It's only in these forsaken lands that humans among devils and devils among humans sin! That man…I never knew… He was the first to call my name, and I was captured by him and locked away in his house."

Her mother was crying heavily now. She told Merianna to keep listening when she was unsure of what to do, worry etched in her face. Ulchina had to resume the story, ignoring Merianna's pleas to translate whatever it was that she was recounting.

"There was simply no escape, my darling. I could not run, I could not fly. Where could I run to…? My wings…my wings…Oh! My beautiful wings…Never can I return…! When angels are violated, our wings are no longer pure. Only angels with pure, sparkling white wings are able to enter Heaven, Merianna, and the day that I was discarded onto the human world was the day my wings lost their lustre. My dear… I worry for you every time you go out to play with that boy. What will I ever do if I lost you too?"

She reached a hand out and brushed Merianna's cheek.

"I could not see a life for you in that man's house. If I could not escape at least for my own life, I would escape for the sake of yours. Merianna, may you never have to know what he did to us. May you never have to live through that. We live among humans, but they are such forsaken creatures…"

Ulchina rose from the bed, undoing her blouse and opened her wings. They were far bigger than Merianna could imagine, although they were dull platinum, the same colour as her own boring hair. Merianna, as a young child, was awestruck and sat there with her eyes wide open. There was no light that shone radiantly or a chorus appearing from nowhere, only a natural ability revealing itself. Before Merianna had the chance to say anything more, Ulchina clapped her hand over the girl's mouth, raising a finger to her lips. Her hands moved from her mouth to Merianna's forehead. She closed her eyes as a long strip of cinematic record burst out. Ulchina smoothly drew it out from her child's soul, clipped it, and put it into a little oval white container. She kissed her sleeping child's forehead and whispered to the container cupped in her hands.

"You must not open. Not in Merianna's hands and certainly not in that human boy's hands. You must not open until the time is right."

The cinematic record ended as it was being swallowed whole by the white container, who shut its mouth and lay there still in its master's room.

* * *

Merianna wasn't sure what happened when she awoke from the cinematic record. It was one thing to sense one, but another to be completely immersed in one…which was something she was still working on. Her head felt filled with new information that was hard to fit in, and there was hardly time to. Her eyes were hurting from being sliced at, and everything turned back into a deep crimson shade. She could hardly make out the soul reapers that came to attack her. They also seemed dazed from the large cinematic record. Just before they could attack, there was another bright light, but this time, it was a soft yellow glow. Merianna felt a breeze of softness envelope her body, including the gaps in her wings. All the pain from losing her hands and her eyesight was dulled and she felt as if she were being picked up by a cloud. Something sat around her head, although she couldn't raise her hand to feel it. Her feet left the ground through no act of her own, and she heard a mix of confusion and awe in the voices below. She suddenly remembered what Jake had told her was in that container. It was her halo and that if she ever opened it, she would never return.

Just when she realized this, she cried out and tried to stop herself from floating away. She reached her arm out to the ground below her, but even with fingers, (if she had them) they could only scrape a bit of cloud.

"N-No! I'm not ready to leave! No! I can't leave! I can't leave them behind! They're all waiting for me! I have to go back Nooo!"

But it was all futile.

* * *

Ciel stared at the church, noticing some broken pieces of glasses at the side. Although the day was a nice cloudy day, there was a heavy aura lingering around the church. Sebastian, at his side, checked the time on his pocket watch, whisking it away to his breast pocket. On their way back from dealing with the Lady Blanc that infiltrated his corporation, there was a public disturbance in which they had to be involved in. They calmed the warring thief gangs who were battling over a wheel of cheese. One of the faces seemed familiar to Ciel. When it hit him that it was from a wanted criminals list, the man bolted, screaming for the help of heavenly angels. What he got was one hell of a punch by one hell of a butler. The thin and rugged man continued screaming like a little girl, promising them whatever he could earn the next day. After a bit of interrogation, they learned that there was a massacre or religious cult suicide at a church. After a bit more interrogation, they also learned that he had wet his pants a little.

And that was how they arrived here. And what a scene they arrived to.

There were bodies of adults everywhere, although there was the minimal amount of blood possible. There was a heavy odour in the air and Ciel had to excuse himself to turn away from the horrific look on their faces. He hoped that no religious cult would ever choose to commit a mass suicide or murder like this. Sebastian continued on the search, emerging from the doors to check on Ciel every couple of minutes. After a good two hours, the demon butler approached the disturbed boy with a full analysis. The people there were all dead, and the souls were already gone. His face darkened when he suggested that it may have been the Rouge-Gorges at play here.

"I fear that they have already done their worse damage in achieving their goal." He started.

"Remember the pentacle drawn on our door? If our suspicions are correct and they are trying to call upon one of the greater demons...they may have succeeded already." Sebastian muttered, still deep in thought.

"Were all those people...the sacrifices?" Ciel asked, shuddering at the memories.

Sebastian shook his head. "None of them had any traces of Hell on them...except Jake."

"Jake? Jake Hawkins? What is he doing here? Don't tell me that he was the one summoning a demon!" Ciel snapped.

Again, Sebastian shook his head. "I'm not quite sure, Young Master. When I came upon his body, it seems that his soul was meeting with a demon. I tried to enter, but I failed to interrupt them. I only caught a glimpse of them, and a whiff of the smell of the Inferno. The other being must have saw me, and fled from the meeting."

"And you didn't tell me this?!"

"Young Master," he clucked, "how could I expect you to come with me if you couldn't set a foot into the church?"

Ciel let out a low grumble. "What do we do now?"

"We should follow him." Came the simple reply. "I've caught onto his scent, and if we can at least get some information out of him...perhaps we will find our end soon. The Rouge-Gorges doesn't seem to be just a thief gang. Their intentions are mysterious, yet ominous."

"How are we going to follow a dead man?" Ciel laughed bitterly, "The dead won't reveal themselves to us. What is dead will stay dead."

Sebastian hesitated a bit before beginning again. "For some reason or another, Jake's soul is trapped. He is dead to this world, yet somehow a demon was able to interrupt his transcendence...furthermore he was left untouched by the soul reapers. He would be in Purgatory at least, to await his sentence."

Ciel's eyes sharpened, "Purgatory? What is that?"

Sebastian didn't like to be spreading around gossip about the netherworlds, but he soon had to relinquish as Ciel started to take off his eye patch.

"Lost souls are found there. Those who have sinned and repented or and those who have good lives yet met a grisly death…Perhaps most cases the soul reapers are unaware of how to judge the soul. It's almost like a waiting room before going into the doctor's office."

It was an over-simplified version of how it worked, but Ciel seemed to understand it well enough. He had a look of interest in his eyes, one that worried Sebastian. His grip on the snow-white feathers tightened as he continued to hide the handful behind his back. He immediately made a snap decision to interrupt his master's thoughts.

"But I do not recommend humans to journey there." He quickly added, "For one thing, Young Master would need divine permission. Second, there are people there whom you are not fated to meet and who are fated to be left without knowing your presence. Third, I cannot guarantee Young Master's safety there."

Ciel smiled wryly. "Sebastian, I don't believe in God. Or fate. And you know very well that I can handle myself. Now do you know the route there or must I go visit that man?"

Somewhere deep in the tight spaces of a coffin, the Undertaker sneezed. He resolved to find a less drafty coffin, preferably one with a soft cotton lining and a blanket to keep him warm.

Elsewhere, Ciel Phantomhive was lying in his bed, wondering what kinds of things he would see. When he discussed what to bring with Sebastian as he was being washed, the demon chuckled at his hindsight. This was not something that normal people would prepare for after all. Much less prepare several trunks and cases full of necessities to bring. Deeper still in his mind, Ciel wondered if he would see this Purgatory place again when it was his time to pass on. He suddenly felt uncomfortable and squirmed in the bed until he was on his side. He imagined it as how Sebastian had simplified it: a waiting room. How long did the souls there wait to be admitted in? Would they even find Jake there? What kind of people would be there? Would they harm him or help him? Frustrated by all these intrusive and unrelenting thoughts, Ciel sat up in his bed and sat there contemplating in the darkness.

Why was he so intent on going to Purgatory?

At the surface level, he was interested in the very idea of a world like that. What kind of world is it where souls are waiting every day for something that may not ever open to them? He smiled a bitter smile when he imagined the poor souls waiting desperately or wasted away into ashes. But his smile faded away because he was not happy with this answer. If Sebastian had asked him the question that he had just posed himself, he would surely mark this answer wrong. Ciel closed his eyes, seeking the truth inside himself.

Jake was a valuable soldier, even if a few knots got between them. Ciel thought back to their first meeting. Even though Jake was older than him by a few years, they both had the same fire in their eyes. Perhaps they were mirror images of each other. Jake having lived in a poor district and having to rely on the help of others, and Ciel having lived lavishly, yet managing to stand up on his own. Perhaps they were the other's ideal. If they could resurrect him, would Merianna come back as well? It seemed that they were attached to the other in some inseparable way. Or at least, the young man would be able to find her somehow.

In truth, he could be utilizing his time and energy to be taking care of the people who could still be alive right now, especially how the servants were griping about their missing friend. He satisfied them by sending them out to search for her. That way, he would not have to explain to them his and Sebastian's disappearance all of a sudden. Even if they were here, it still would not have stopped him from going to Purgatory. Perhaps just this once, he wished that he could borrow the wings of a bird. His mind was not content with this idealistic approach and as a result from his inner conflict, he picked up a pillow and threw it far away from him. It flew to the table and smashed the pitcher and bowl, earning a rip in the middle. The porcelain dropped as well, bouncing off the pillow and hitting the floor. There was little sound from the accident, but Ciel was anxious to fix it lest it draw Sebastian's attention. He quickly picked up the pitcher, which had earned a crack near its open top and replaced it in the toppled bowl. The pillow, with its large rip, was spilling goose down out. Ciel sighed, leaving it there to have Sebastian patch up tomorrow. No feathers in there would be enough to carry him away to Purgatory and back.

What's in a name? The name itself made him imagine a purging of sins and mortal desires. Maybe the name itself was what attracted him so. Ciel Phantomhive shook his head. There was no use thinking like that now. He was not an idealistic person. He was grounded in pragmatism and the fact that his soul belonged to a demon. There was no escape. Something caught in his throat, and he felt its weight. Even if he could enter and be free of the contract, would he want to? He had already sacrificed so much, and to bear the consequences seemed like the right and noble thing to do. After all, no praying or purging could ever bring them back.

The lump stuck in his throat settled in his chest. He touched his breast, where the answer lay dormant. The truth he wanted to find was a truth he did not want to accept. The worse realization came when he knew the obvious answer to his truth.

Even if he did go to Purgatory and saw every soul there, he would never see his parents again. He could not bring them back. He could not speak to them or meet with them or feel their embrace. All his thoughts before seemed to crash down, futile to the strength of the truest answer. He felt the weight of everything around him. Ciel threw the covers off of himself and the pillows behind him found their way to the floor. Even the cover over his branded eye seemed to be an unbearable load. With nothing on the bed except for himself and the sheets, he lay there, unmoving. He listened to his heart beating, as still as he wished his heart was. Wherever he was going, if it were Purgatory or Heaven or Hell, he would not see his parents. He was still living, and they were dead. He felt the breeze of the wind and the taste of air. He moved about as he pleased, yet was still constrained to a flesh body. There were experiences he had and had yet to experience. There were people he still had to meet and many he would have to end. Such was the weight of the living being.

He lay in his bed, and threw his arms over his face to cover his eyes. All this thinking and grief wore him down. He entered into a dreaming state, dreaming of the soft pull of the waves on a boat. He could hear the sloshing of an oar driving the little rowboat he was on and felt the rippled in the water. He mumbled a bit, pulling his arms away and letting them fall to his sides. His consciousness flowed from unconscious to awake, sleeping to aware.

"Young Master, you shouldn't sleep in such a way. A voice said.

Ciel's eyes burst open and he sat up, causing the boat to shake. His hands clamped down on the wool sheets that were on his as he turned around to see Sebastian at the stern.

"S-Sebastian! I thought I was…!"

The demon chuckled lightly, "Surely you can't expect to know how to get to Purgatory. As Ali Baba blindfolded the tailor and lead him to the body, I've am bringing you to Purgatory in the same manner."

Ciel calmed himself and jerked his head around. They were no longer in his room and definitely not on land anymore. All around him were grey fog and water that seemed stagnant, yet flowing. When Ciel peered over the sides, there was no reflection at all. He wondered if they were floating on top of paint instead of water. Just as he was going to touch it, he heard a hiss from Sebastian.

"It would be best if you refrained from touching that, Young Master."

Ciel understood. The rules of the mortal realm wouldn't apply to the place he was in now. There was a dense fog lingering all around them and above them, only grey. It seemed that there was a silent lightning storm above, with cracks of light flashing white and gold every few seconds. He saw a figure that seemed to be falling from the false sky, but the next second, it was gone. It might have been a little trick his eyes were creating. He thought he could see another figure standing on the water as well, but as they approached the figure, it disappeared like a mirage. He was getting sick of this nonsense and the paranoia it was instilling inside him.

Ciel was still dressed in his nightshirt, and shivered from the cold air. Sebastian motioned him to the neatly folded pile of clothes he used as a pillow for his master, knowing that Ciel would not like going around the lands without flouncing off his wealth. He also added that he would dress him once they reached shore, wherever that was. For now, Ciel could rest, since it was still a while away before they reached it.

While Ciel was still sleeping in the boat, Sebastian had landed it on the shores and met the gatekeeper, Charon. The being spoke in smoke and fog, no more than a hiss of gas escaping from his mouth. No human would have been able to communicate with it.

"What business do you have here, demon? None alive pass, and none that eat souls pass."

Sebastian bowed deeply, pulling out a golden coin from his sleeve. Charon, much like humans from up above, could be persuaded with shiny, metallic money. Charon hissed out fog.

"It's a journey for the human boy, sleeping there. I am merely a guide."

"Publius shall be your name for this time being…" Charon announced as he opened the iron gates behind him.

No soul-eating being could enter with its real name. By adopting a fake one, it was like wearing a mask. With a mask on, they would not be condemned or noticed by the denizens inside, and it functioned as a trap so that no demon could open their jaws and swallow any souls inside.

"A million thanks, Charon." Sebastian smirked, turning to rouse his master.

* * *

Angela walks gracefully across the tessellated tiles along the garden. She is surprised that the brat of a gardener is not there to stop her. She plucks a rose-colour rose, smelling its aroma delicately. She compliments the house quietly for taking care of such a rare Juliette rose. Destroying one would cost as much as a human life. With the grace of a beautiful lady, she drops the flower and crushed it beneath her foot as she treads on. She does not dare to go past the gardens. She knows that she would be visible if she came up to the stairs at the front of the house. She hopes that her summoning will be heard. Angela closes her eyes and wills the demon dog to show itself. When it does in its human form, she calls him forward to her and it responds. Pluto nuzzles and licks her face, until she tells it to stop.

"I've got a big job for my big boy," she coos, "and I've got you a present to help you get started."

She presents a black studded collar out, which Pluto sniffs with curiosity. The demon dog lets out a small whimper at the item, but Angela does not care much. It remains obedient while Angel ruffles its hair and slips it to the back of his neck, as if she were placing a jewelled necklace on him. It fits perfectly around him, and she clips the buckle shut. Pluto's eyes suddenly flash from its normal white to red, and back again. It bares his teeth and is growling in a low guttural voice. Angela steps back to allow him space to transform, cackling at Pluto's resistance. The man in front of her transforms and the collar around him fits tightly, almost like a choking hold. The fur all around Pluto's body bristles with rage and his jaws clamp eagerly and compulsively. There are flames and sparks jumping from his mouth, as if he were coughing them up. Angela pats his head with a cold compassion, whispering into his ears.

Pluto responds with a howl that resounds throughout the property. He whips his head around and stamps his paws on the ground, growling at the Phantomhive mansion. Angela draws out her whip and smacks the dog's rump with him, sending him barraging to battle. The fire is let out in a steady stream now, and the demons dog's claws are out to tear the bricks and foundation of the house. Angel is laughing at the demise that is to come. Now that the Phantomhive household is dispersed and soon to meet their own separate demises, it's time that she seek out the doom of the rest of the world.


	12. Halo and Hell

**Slight Umineko spoiler? Be warned. **

Although Merianna didn't feel any pain, that didn't mean her sight came back. She raised her arm to feel her face, but then she remembered that her hands were chopped off from the soul reaper's attack. She rubbed her wrists against each other, feeling the bare stumps. She wasn't sure where she was anymore. All she knew was that she was floating away. There was a warm breeze that lifted the hair from her face and lifted her up like a feather in the wind. She wondered where she was headed to, wondered how she would return, and wondered if she really cared about the matter at all. She had been dragged off by men with guns and nets, set up on a cross and had her friends torn apart in front of her face and in her rage she had killed the people in the church. She said she would not be holy anymore. She said that she would no longer be an angel. Would that be possible? Her consciousness webbed between awake and asleep during the journey.

"Merianna, come here." A voice called.

She turned her head around, trying to locate the voice. She bent her head down and tucked her hair behind the shell of her ear to hear it again. The voice seemed bold, strong. It repeated its command again. With staggering and unsteady steps, she uprighted herself and walked towards the location of the voice. Her arms were out, trying to feel for anything, but there seemed to be nothing in her way at all. Her bare feet met cotton-like flooring, and she worried that she would sink in this unknown substance.

"Good, stop right there."

She did as she was told, not sure if the voice was a friend or a foe.

"Dear child, do you know who I am?"

She shook her head, a bit annoyed. How would she know if she could not see them? She didn't recognize their voice, but she ran through the faces of the people she had seen before, just in case.

"I am God."

She searched through her head a bit more, wanting to scratch her head. She remembered again that she had no hands. Her scanning took a bit longer than she wanted, and there was a good minute of silence between them.

"H-Have we met before, sir?" she asked shyly.

In truth, she wasn't sure of whether the voice was a male or a female, resorting to using the male pronoun. It sounded like many people talking at once. She wasn't sure what language they were speaking either. In her mind, it was translated from Italian to French, and English to French, or it was simply spoken in French. She replied in English, as she was last in England after all. She repeated, in French, just in case they had not understood.

"I am one, yet many."

It seemed like a puzzle to her. Or perhaps it was a game to find out who was the murderer on an island. She wanted to scream out that they were the culprit. Who was this strange person?

"Désolé, monsieur. Vous n'êtes pas vraiment Claire…" (Sorry, Mister. You are not really clear)

"I knew your mother. I am God. I created the world." The voice said in quick sentences.

Merianna suddenly remembered something from months ago. There was a book called a bible that talked about God's story. There was the Adam and Eve he created and an apple that caused their demise. The voice that was talking created all there was in the universe. She bit down on her tongue. Such an omnipotent character would certainly know everything in the world and speak every language. She regretted being so naïve and ignorant.

"Your mother never returned to this place."

Merianna nodded, biting down harder on her tongue to keep the tears from surfacing.

"And instead you are here."

She nodded again, feeling very tiny and unwanted. She heard someone moving, and a deep sigh.

"What am I to do?"

Her head tilted up with surprise. An omnipresent god was unsure of what to do. She thought back on her mother's words and how humans perceived God as all powerful and knowing. Perhaps God was simply as human as they were, prone to mistakes and blundering. She opened her mouth to say something before shutting it.

"Speak, child. What happened to your mother? My angels never bring me news of her."

Merianna suddenly froze up, raising her arms to her chest reflexively.

"…Wouldn't she have…returned here…if she died?"

Her voice came out in a squeaky inaudible sound. Her eyes starting stinging again, but she felt a warm breeze sweep over them and the pain was gone. Tears were falling from her eyes, but they seemed heavier and stickier than normal ones. A crybaby like herself would know. She felt a hand on top of her head, rubbing her hair gently.

"I see…" the voice said softly. "Angels disappear when they die…And they can only die from mortal wounds…or sadness…"

There was a moment of quiet there, until there were sounds of shuffling once more.

"I must be honest with you, young one. There is nowhere for you to go. The gates to Heaven will not open for you here because of the task left undone and promise yet unfulfilled. And I cannot return you to the mortal realm now that you've arrived. I-…child, stop biting your lip, it's started to bleed."

Merianna hadn't even realized and let go. She imagined that the same cloud like substance that enveloped her prevented her from recognizing pain. She had no where to go now, just like when she lost her mother. It seemed that she was trapped wherever she was now. She thought of what she could do now, and remembered the legends of Orestes, who carried the curse of his family line until he ended it. Fearing that God's patience was running out, she eagerly called out to him.

"God! God! What if- What if I completed the task myself? Would that…Would that suffice? Would I be let…let…"

She wasn't sure if she meant "go" as in free to return to the mortal realm or "inside" as in pass into the realm of Heaven.

"I could consider it, if you succeed. Your wings, torn by human hands I can heal…but the hands and eyes cut by a death scythe, I cannot." He answered, "I will send you there now. Someone will be there to guide you. Good luck, child."

Merianna was about to ask what it was she was about to do, or how she would go about on this quest, but the ground beneath her feet gave away and she found herself unable to keep upright. She batted her wings, but the gravity seemed to be heavier than what she could manage. She could hardly scream before her consciousness gave out.

She wasn't sure when she awoke, but suddenly she was on her feet and her brain was functioning again. She stayed still, unable to count on her sight to check her surroundings. Being blind now, she had to rely on her hearing now. She heard nothing except the buzzing in her ears.

"Hello." A voice whispered.

"Who's there?" she blurted out in alarm.

She whipped around, unable to locate where the voice came from. Suddenly, a cold hand grabbed her arm. She yelped at the freezing touch, slipping her arm away and backing away.

"P-Please…calm down. I'm here to help you." The voice said. "I used to be a student of your mother! My name is Maro."

The hand grabbed Merianna's arm again, although she didn't pull away this time. The hand seemed almost ethereal, yet reassuring her. She figured that this was the person's way of telling her that they were standing in front of her, since she could not see herself. She couldn't remember the name, but she relaxed her body.

"Wha…What happened?" Merianna asked. "Where are we?"

"I…died…yes, from the…yes it was…a sickness. Consumption, it was. Your mother taught me…taught me…um…calligraphy…I wanted to be…a scribe…or a nun…I can't remember. But I came from well-off family…and…and! I remember you too…! You were small and young and pretty~"

The person seemed slow with their words, as if they had just woken up from a hundred years sleep. Merianna wanted to ask what a nun was, and how her mother was to them. It seemed that the person looked at her mother in a good way though.

"Eh, yes. Now then. When I died…I was sent to Limbo. That's…That's another place. I stayed there for a long time, slowly being drained of memories and such. I…then afterwards…You supposedly go onto Purgatory and you…live a new sort of life there…or so I've heard. But in Limbo, an gold cloud thing…uhn…brought me out and…said that if I took on this task…I would be freed…so here I am…"

Merianna felt her other arm being lifted up and held by Maro, letting her examine the stumps.

"Oh dear, what happened to your….Uh…hands? They're gone…uhn. And…you know…not here…"

Merianna felt her face flush, and she drew her arms away to shamefully try to hide them around her stomach.

"I…uh, someone…a soul reaper cut them…" she stuttered.

She didn't know if Maro understood or not, but nevertheless, the spirit took her arms again.

"That's completely fine…then…uh…we should get going…now…or so…" Maro suggested.

"Ah? Where are we going?" Merianna asked.

"Oh…that's right…He must not have told you much…Uh…You have to…uh…meet with Lucifer…see if…uh…he's got something for you um…for you to do…So that you'd be accepted…and such…into Heaven. So uh…we're travelling…I think…through here…you know…Hell. You…aren't scared, are you?"

Merianna wasn't really sure. On one hand, she didn't have enough information to be scared, but on the other, the whole endeavour seemed way out of her comfort range. She wondered if she should be writing a long epic poem about her journey, split into nice Italian cantos. Someone might have done so already, someone who could see.

"If it gets me home…" she mumbled, making her resolve, "then there's no time…to be scared…I have friends waiting for me…!"

She felt a smile across her lips, remembering the smiles on everyone's faces. Maro gave an affirmative grunt and started leading her hand in arm. They started walking. Merianna was first a bit unsure of where to step, but after a while she was used to it. She wondered what the path was like. Underneath her bare feet, it was like walking on rocky territory, but her feet didn't feel sore at all. Maro encouraged her to keep walking, occasionally leading her around things that she couldn't see.

"What is Hell like, Miss Maro? Can I call you Miss? I can't see anything." Merianna asked, feeling friendly with her companion already.

"Oh, just call me…uh…Maro. And…well…there's a lot…of people here…" Maro replied, "That's right…you can't see…uh…that's okay…"

Merianna stopped, and so did Maro.

"Can we go meet them?" Merianna asked, a bit excitedly.

There was silence as Maro considered it.

"You…can't…" Maro replied in a quiet voice. "Everyone in Hell…is uh…frozen…not like…in ice and stuff…more like…you know…not…moving…"

Merianna reflexively spun her head around, forgetting that she had no sight. She asked Maro to explain.

"Oh…you know…in Limbo, you just…you know…float around…like you're in jelly. No one to talk to…In Purgatory you have…to um…you have to…climb the mountain…but in Hell, you're just…uh…you're just here…still…not moving at all…you can't talk…no." she replied.

She felt Maro pull her off to the left, and suddenly the end of her arm was pressed against something.

"Here! Here is…uh…it says his name is…uh…Caligula? It looks like…he's uh…been here for a long time…"

While Maro was murmuring to herself about whatever it was she was reading, Merianna continued prodding whatever it was she feeling. It seemed cold as stone, yet felt like a human would. There was definitely a hand there, she determined, running her arm along Caligula's. It met a torso and eventually a head. She heard Maro laughing.

"Perhaps you shouldn't torture the man so much." She giggled.

Merianna retracted her arm, holding it out for Maro to take again. Maro led Merianna along once more, answering her various questions.

"So they are like that for eternity? Everyone who is here?"

"Yes, everyone…I think…they can't move…or uh…or speak…they can't um…do anything. Yeah. Nothing. It's painful…like…kind of like…um…when you've got to uh…hold something out…for a long time…and your arm uh…starts to get sore…but you know…the people here are forced to keep that err…position…yeah. Forever."

Merianna shuddered at the thought. Anyone would get sore after even a minute of holding their arm out. To hold it out for an eternity seemed like torture indeed. She didn't know the person…Caligula…but she hoped that he would be saved one day. She asked Maro more questions: if people there were ever saved, how many people went there, what happened in different scenarios, if people ever escaped among other things. Maro patiently answered every one to the best of her knowledge, and honestly admitted if she did not. Merianna's interest soon turned to Maro herself as they continued on their journey. Although her knowledge on this subject was less complete, she answered.

"Ah…a nun is…someone who worships God you see…but my mother didn't want…um…didn't want me to leave…to a nunnery. That's where…things…yeah…it's where nuns live…they live away from home! I learned…uh…calligraphy…from your mum, you see? You've got to…you know…know to write…to be a nun."

Merianna stopped.

"Wh-What's the matter, Merianna? Something…uh…something wrong?"

"Did you…say something?" Merianna whispered.

Maro looked around, wondering why her friend was whispering. Merianna brushed the hair and tucked it behind her ear with her arm. All around them were statues of the souls of Hell, and the only ones alive and moving were themselves. Maro kept watching Merianna, noticing her bloody face twitching every now and again. She urged Merianna to keep walking, worried that something had gotten into her. Suddenly, Merianna ripped her arm away from Maro's hand, crouching as she put them against her head.

"No! No! Stop!" she cried out, "I'm sorry! I didn't want to!"

Maro looked around again, but there was no one else speaking. She was frozen there too, unsure of what to do.

"M-Merian-ana? Wh-What's happening?"

"No! Shut up! Stop yelling at me! I didn't do anything to you!"

She continued screaming and covering her ears, not consoled at all by Maro. Suddenly, Maro felt a cool breeze behind her neck. It wasn't possible, as nothing in Hell was in motion. She whipped around. There was a spirit escaping from its body. It looked like a small boy, although in spirit form he looked as wretched as Maro did. Maro was partly glad that Merianna was blind, or else she would have seen how atrocious things in the dead were.

"W-Wh-! How is this happening?" Maro stuttered, falling backwards.

The spirit boy was walking with a crooked gait towards them. He was mumbling something. Another body next to him started oozing out its spirit as well, a similar aged boy.

"Blood-Eyes…Blood-Eyes…Blood-Eyes…" they chanted, "Killed us all! Bloody murderess! Took away our lives…!"

Behind her, Merianna screamed again. Was that what was bothering her so much? Maro softened, Merianna had probably heard the voices before she could, and at a louder rate too. She grabbed Merianna's shoulders, shaking her.

"C'mon, Merianna! We've….ah…! We've got to…We've got to get out of h-here! Now!"

"I didn't…do it on purpose…! I didn't know…what was happening!" she wailed, "I…Six-Shot…Step-Strings…Oliva…Spades…everyone…why …Black-Hand…Smoke-Mess…"

Merianna was still spouting nonsense. The more time they spent there, the more spirits came alive. Maro was now actively trying to pull her friend up. Her ethereal body was much lighter than one of flesh though, and she could only pull her forward until Merianna was on her hands and arms. She still called out to her, trying to snap her out of her madness. There were more spirits now, and they were crowding in a circle around them. Maro linked her arms through Merianna's not only to pull her up, but as a comfort as well. Of course, she didn't get as close.

"L-Leave us alone!" she shouted to the spirits.

She tried to hit one through the chest with a free arm, but it went right through like smoke. In fact, it was as if Maro wasn't there at all. The spirits started to grab Merianna's clothes, hair or anything they could get their hands on.

"So cold…so cold here…yet you're so warm…you're still living…give us heat…we'll take you, we'll take you…and we'll never love you. We'll take your body and we'll hate you forever. Hey…let's reincarnate…we'll tear you up and fix you up…until no one can recognize you anymore…and we'll join you…we'll be together forever…and we'll keep hating you, keep destroying you…you'll never escape…! That's our revenge for our deaths!"

The spirits went into mindless chanting, until Maro's head too, was spinning. Blindly, she was flailing her arms around trying to dispel the unpleasant spirits. Her friend was screaming and crying from the curses being launched at her. Finally, Merianna tumbled forward, giving into Maro's pull. Maro continued leading her, pulling her along until Merianna was running as well. The spirits were slowly charging after them, but they could not get far without their flesh bodies which were still frozen in time. After running for what seemed like a long day, Maro stopped and let her friend go. Merianna fell to the floor, gasping and coughing. Maro touched a hand to her lungs, trying to calm her mind. She herself had no heartbeat, but she could hear Merianna's.

"Merianna…! What…What happened back there? Ar-Are you…uhn…are you all right?" she stuttered.

Her friend was shaking, and blood was dripping from her slashed eyes. Maro wondered if she was hurt or not, but Merianna didn't seem affected by her feet bleeding. Her eyes wandered to the halo floating above her head. She heard that halos prevented angels from feeling pain. She likened it to a mind control device so that angels would never leave God like the opium-craze that took over a lot of people during their time. Merianna was quiet now, but she was holding her body tight around herself, holding her arms near her neck. Maro guessed that if she had her hands, she would be covering her face.

"Who…who were those…uhna…uh…people, Meria-anna?"

"T-They want-wanted to re-returned to their life…" she replied, not answering the question at all, "They wanted to…seize my body…and ri-ri-rip it apart…and wh-wherever I e-ended up…reincarnation…combine it…this body would fix it…they would go as well…And they-they-they would never…never love me…a new body…us…we would never coexist…we'd share a soul…but never…never…never"

She could see that Merianna was clearly shaken by the event, but Maro couldn't comprehend it at all.

"S-Seize your…body…? Share a soul? It sounds…what…? Merianna, you're scaring me!"

Maro rubbed Merianna's back while she cried it all out. She also snuck a touch at the wings that piqued her curiosity since they had met. Maro didn't like being so vulnerable, but she admitted that they both needed a break. The frozen souls around them seemed still and didn't mind their presence. In the back of her mind, she was wondering what kind of angel she was dealing with exactly. Suddenly, she felt Merianna's arms on her face, which she instinctively yelped in alarm.

"M-Maro? Is that you? Are you there?" she heard.

Maro scuttled over to Merianna's front and took hold of her arms in her hands.

"I-I'm right here!" she said in a cheerful tone to assure her friend.

"That was scary back there…" Merianna admitted, "I'm sorry…I heard them…and I had to stop because I thought I lost you…and then I heard them screaming…and yelling…They were angry at me, and wanted their revenge."

Without warning, she wrapped her arms around Maro, crying still.

"And I was so scared! I thought they really were going to tear me apart! And I couldn't defend myself at all! Oh, Maro! I was so deathly afraid! And sad too…! Those poor souls…what have I done to them? The angel, Ashe, took away their souls in one fell swoop and I did nothing!"

Maro was surprised at the suddenness, reflexively pushing Merianna away from her. She didn't want Merianna to know too much about her.

"I-I'm sorry…she mumbled.

Instead, she placed her hand on Merianna's head, rubbing it to comfort her. The other held her arm.

"The poor souls…I didn't think they'd have to reside here…no wonder they hated me so much…" she sniffled, "even if they did…join with my soul…an angel doesn't go to Heaven when they die…they wouldn't have gone anywhere at all…they'd just disappear alongside me…I don't think they would have known that."

"W-Well…uh…what are you going to do…after you're done with all this?" Maro asked, desperate to get Merianna's mind off of this.

"I have to go back…back to the mortal realm…I have friends there I need to be with…and…"

Merianna's head turned to Maro's direction.

"Would you come with me? Could I bring you back?"

Maro gasped in surprise. It seemed like a miracle offer. She looked around, worried that someone might overhear them. She turned back when the statues laid still. She nodded her head, forgetting again that Merianna had no sight.

"I would…if you could get me out of here…I would…do anything…! But…"

She stopped. Going back meant going back to the mortal realm. Would she be a vampire or other wandering and lost spirit? Going back would mean going back to having to bear the weight of living. She would have to find a means of food, water and shelter. She didn't have the weight of life as she was now, an ethereal spirit. And right now, she couldn't weigh the choices she had either.

"I'll think about it." she said, with a smile on her lips.

Merianna had calmed down now, and she let herself be led on by Maro. The two of them had found a ballad they had both knew, and were singing it together on the way through Hell. Every so often, Merianna would stop and ask Maro to describe whatever it was around them. It helped not only Merianna imagine the terrain around them, but Maro was getting used to her speech again, and stuttered less. It was almost like she was coming back alive. Maro would also read a few names off the frozen people. Some they recognized from their personal lives or were worldwide known. They passed by craters of lava and rivers of fire, no doubt those who died by incineration stood here. Maro shuddered at the ones who died by medical causes, their faces contorted and mutilated in the name of science. It was almost as if Lucifer had turned this Hell into a museum of a sort.

"Hey, Maro." Merianna chirped, "What if I were to give my halo over to you?"

This time, it was Maro who stopped first and Merianna bumped into her. She spun around and looked straight at Merianna's bleeding eyes. How much of a miracle was this one girl bringing with her?

"My mother said that without a halo, angels can't get into Heaven…so maybe if I give it over to you, you can go into Heaven. I don't want it…I want to stay in the living world. I think that…you would be much more happier with it than me. My mother said that Heaven is a nice place."

Maro was on the verge of tears, or maybe she was already crying but her spirit could not form tears. She too, wanted to hug her kind friend.

"That would be the best…uhn…the best! Let's get you…get you to the end, now!"

The two of them hastened their pace. Maro was glad that she was not sentenced to live life here. Her only mistake was to choose a wrong religion. She thought it was a stupid reason to be sent to Limbo, as she had leaded a perfectly normal life. In Limbo, it was forever dull and uneventful waiting for her memories to fade away. In Hell, time was dull, and the spirits were ever restless. She had to turn away her head when she saw the body of her younger brother, who she guessed had died from the war he had left to. Half of his face was missing, and it was only by the golden pendant he had on him that she spotted him. She had left Merianna standing alone for a while to brush her brother's cheek tenderly, hoping that his misery would end soon. She could not stay long, as there was nothing she could do to free him.

Merianna heard Maro making various grunts and mumblings at their stop. Maro seemed to be analyzing something in front of them. She imagined them arriving at a fork in the road, with one sign pointing to a village full of liars and another pointing to a town of truth-sayers.

"Una…um…hm…uuu…" she would mumble.

"Is something…wrong, Maro?"

"Ah…there's a…a…Purgatory mountain here…we have to get over it…but..un…we have no…I'm not allowed to step foot to Purgatory. Lucifer's place…um…yeah…is on the other side, you see? And um…this isn't like earth moun…mountains…we can't uhh…go…go around…"

"How large…is it? This mountain?"

"Pretty large…! The tip there…uh…the tip just touches Heaven, you know."

"Maybe…we can fly over?" Merianna suggested.

"Uhn! You can fly?! Uu! That'd work! We can fly over the mountain!"

"Oh…well I can't fly that well…with these weird wings…I can fly up and down…That's why I was thinking…of kind of hopping over the mountain. You can't touch it…but what if you just hang on? Maybe I can…carry you? You can climb on my back. You don't seem heavy. You just tell me where to go."

Maro was unsure of how the plan was going to work, but with no alternative, she clambered onto Merianna's back, holding on for dear life. Merianna batted her wings, and she lifted them both up into the air. They were soon landing again, just over the line that separated Hell and Purgatory. Maro was yelling that it was too soon to land, but Merianna assured her that it was part of the plan. They carefully landed on the ground, and Merianna's wings lifted them up again. Maro then understood the meticulous plan. Although Merianna's wings could not carry them the whole distance, they could do bunny hops along the side of the mountain. Now that Maro was comforted, she could be Merianna's eyes and companion, describing various things there.

"Ah! Lucifer thought he could out-think us with this mountain! But yeah! Merianna, we can get over this! Oh, look there, there's a little boy who just tripped over a rock!" Maro laughed richly.

"What kind of place is Purgatory, Maro?"

"Ana, it's uh…where people come to…you know…be kind of reborn! After Limbo, or if you went straight to Purgatory when you died…souls would come here…after uhh…being drained of their previous memories. They uhh, climb this mountain and get to Heaven. Well, not into Heaven, but at the gates, you see? And uh. Up there, they get a new life. I thought that um…angels came from good people, but it turns out that…una…they are just born in Heaven as angels. Humans just get reincarnated."

"What about animals? I used to take care of a dog. His name was Stikes…what would happen to him?"

"Um…ah! Animals just become reborn. They don't uh…need to go through Hell or Purgatory, you see? I never ate any, because I knew they were already good! Hey, look! The people are all looking at us!"

"Maro…I can't see…"

"Oh…sorry, Merianna…una…forgot that…Merianna, stop!"

Merianna immediately halted, almost sliding off on the rocky footing. The ground felt different on her feet. It felt like a dusty ledge, not warm but not cold. The mountainside, she decided, was cool. She felt Maro squirming on her back, and suddenly reminded her friend that she could not set a foot on the mountain.

"Maro! We don't know what will happen if you touch the mountain!" she whispered.

"It's my dad, Merianna! Over there! He's climbing the mountain! Can you…you turn a bit! To your left! I have to meet him!"

Merianna nodded, hearing the direness in her friend's voice. She turned and slowly walked straight. She stopped when she heard a low grunt. She felt a bit of heat from whatever it was in front of her. It was body heat. The souls here had body heat, unlike the souls from Hell and Limbo. Her hearing had sharpened, and to her surprise, there was no breathing from the person in front of her. Her hearing picked up other grunts from other voices. There must have been more than one father climbing the mountain. She wondered if her name was being called from somewhere.

"Huh, who are you, angel rider?" a gruff voice answered.

"It's me, papa! Maro! I've missed you!" she heard Maro yelp. "Don't you recognize me?"

"Maro? Who's that? I've never met a Maro. Are you some heavenly messenger or something?"

Maro didn't seem to answer. Merianna felt the hands on her back ball into fists. She could tell that Maro was upset by this answer.

"N-Nevermind…una…I've…got the wrong person…na…Merianna…let's go…fast. Let's go"

Merianna was unsure of what happened, but she stepped backwards, nodding a bit to whoever it was in front of her, and jumped into the air. She heard sniffling from behind her.

"Maro…are you alright?"

"I forgot…uhn…I forgot...that they forget who they are…uu…Papa forgot me… You know…I can't even cry…nope…Spirits can't cry…our tears are all dried up…uhn…"

"That's okay, Maro…I think…that I'm already crying for you, and your papa. I…never really got to know my father. But it seems sad…if someone doesn't recognize their child anymore. It'd be sad…if we forgot who our loved ones are…"

"Uhn! You said…you said it right, Merianna…I knew he had something wrong with his brain…and Papa was always forgetful…especially when he was getting old…! But I know…that he still loved us…Here…I'll clean up that blood for you…you know you're crying blood, right Merianna? It's all over your face…!"

Maro chuckled a little, her heart lightened to at least see her old family again. How many more miracles were to come?

* * *

***In which the author feels that she has not explained well enough and would like to further elaborate on previous events***

_So...what exactly were the angry spirits doing to poor little character unable to defend herself?_

_Well, they wanted to rip her apart. But that didn't seem to do them justice. After all, what fun would they have once she was nothing but pieces of flesh and blood? These children wanted to rip her apart and join their souls with her (awwww). They believed that when she died, she would go to Heaven and have her body rebuilt. Except you know...their souls and Merianna's soul would be the same. They'd be a couple few souls all crammed into one body. The kicker is that they swear that they will **never** love Merianna. Every day, they would torture her and whisper to her all the curses and swear words the naughty boys had ever learned and make sure she would get no peace. As if she wouldn't have gotten enough shit from the other angels attacking her about her mutation._

_Hmmm...well. Even if they did succeed [AU loudly being written in the distance] (just kidding hahaha), the souls technically wouldn't go anywhere. Since angels do nothing but disappear into the nothingness of nothingly nothing, Merianna would just disappear when they tore her apart. Or if you have even more gruesome tastes, the little souls would all combine to hers and then they're all disappear together. _


End file.
